Saturday Live: Recent Episodes
BBC Radio 4
Today we’re in the company of three luminously talented people who’ve survived seriously dark periods to shine brightly in their fields.
More than thirty years after Irvine Welsh’s debut novel caused a sensation, he tell us how Trainspotting The Musical was a natural next step.
Alan Davies’ career has been going strong for more than thirty years too. There's a lot going on in his new memoir - the story of his stand-up comedy told in the context of the trauma he went through as a child, and his cancer treatment in middle age.
And Clemency Burton Hill was an accomplished classical musician, writer and broadcaster when a catastrophic brain haemorrhage almost robbed her of everything.
Also, thanks are given to a couple of coppers who were on hand when a listener’s homecoming from holiday went badly wrong.
And we have the Inheritance Tracks of the actor Adrian Lester.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Lowri MorganResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Andrea Kennedy
Joining Adrian this week on Saturday Live, BBC Radio treasure and bestselling author Sara Cox. She just taken over BBC Radio 2's breakfast show but has found the time to write a brand new novel, 'The Truth of Us' that is published on the 16th July.
We have the Booker Prize Winning Author and poet Ben Okri, he is a giant amongst writers, a master storyteller with a fascinating life story of his own to tell.
And Chris Terill has more than 200 documentaries under his belt, awards galore, and a long career worthy of a documentary in its own right.
Plus, the inheritance tracks of the chef and restaurateur behind Mowgli Street Food restaurants, Nisha Katona.
Presenter: Adrian Chiles Producer: Lowri Morgan Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy
Joining Adrian Chiles on this week's programme is Mark Foster, for a good while the fastest swimmer on the planet.
We have author and psychologist Katriona O’Sullivan, a woman raised in poverty in Coventry, who went on to get a PhD from Trinity College, Dublin.
And the remarkably gifted Ralf Little, who we know as an actor but might equally have been a doctor or a footballer.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the singer-songwriter Clare Grogan.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesAssistant Producers: Catherine Powell and Imy Harper Researcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Andrea Kennedy
Adrian Chiles presents Radio 4's Saturday morning programme. On today's programme:
Paul Merton’s been at the top of his game for BBC One's Have I Got News for You and a familiar voice here on BBC Radio 4’s Just A Minute. He is about to take his Improv show with his wife Suki Webster to the Edinburgh Fringe this August. They’ll also be taking the show back to The Comedy Store in London from November through to December. Professor Lady Sue Black - Baroness of Black Strome – is a world‑renowned forensic anthropologist, celebrated for her pioneering work in forensics and human identification.
David James is a football pundit and a former England international. His career as a goalkeeper has taken him from grassroots sport in Welwyn Garden City to the international stage and World Cup tournaments.
Plus we'll have the Inheritance Tracks of the best selling crime author Mark Billingham.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesAssistant Producer: Imy HarperResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Andrea Kennedy
Joining Adrian Chiles on this week's programme is Professor of social history, a writer with a first class degree from Cambridge and a TV legend with a masters from Oxford.
Ruby Wax is as well known now for her work in mental health, but she’s been looking back at some of her biggest interviews to see what she can learn about herself as well as her subjects.
Professor Carl Chinn is a social historian, proud son of Birmingham and great grandson of a Peaky Blinder.
Sathnam Sanghera’s written novels, an acclaimed memoir, acclaimed histories of the British Empire. Now he’s exploring the meaning of one of his heroes - George Michael.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the broadcaster Lorraine Kelly.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesAssistant Producers: Catherine Powell and Imy HarperResearcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy
If you have been affected by any of the details discussed in today’s programme you can find information for help and support in the UK at bbc.co.uk/actionline
Three great guests on the show, as per normal. One of them’s all about the paranormal, one is a legendary entrepreneur, and a lifelong journalist whose greatest story turned up in her own family.
Danny Robins is a man with an uncanny ability to explore the supernatural in a way which delights sceptics and believers alike.
Sharon Ring worked on Fleet Street in newspapers and magazines for more than three decades before finding the full story of her mother and uncle’s childhood in Nazi Germany.
And Simon Woodroofe had a great career in music and television behind him before he got round to keeping the promise he made to himself to make his million - Yo Sushi being the business which made his name. He's just released his memoir: Yo! Man: Rock n’Roll, Robots and Reinventing British Dining.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesAssistant producer: Catherine Powell & Ribika MoktanResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Andrea Kennedy
Adrian Chiles is joined by three hugely successful guests - all shining stars in their fields.
Victoria Pendleton won it all as a track cyclist, a quite astounding athlete who dug so deep, physically and mentally, in her career, and also in navigating her life after cycling.
Cressida Cowell is the writer and illustrator behind - amongst other things - the incredibly successful How to Train your Dragon series.
So we have a sports star, and a star author, and in Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell we have someone whose work enabled the discovery of a new kind of star, a discovery which changed astronomy forever.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesAssistant Producer: Imy Harper & Ribika MoktanProductions co-ordinator: Josie HardyEditor: Andrea Kennedy
Adrian Chiles with a pop star, a comedian and a writer, but there’s a lot more to each of them than that.
Tom Fletcher was starring on the West End stage at the age of 10. 30 years later he’s been back there writing the music for Paddington - The Musical. In between he’s squeezed in popstardom with the hugely successful band McFly.
Bethany Handley grew up loving life in the great outdoors of Monmouthshire and she has written a memoir, My Body is a Meadow: Finding Freedom in the Outdoors.
And with Russell Kane there’s an awful lot going on. Terrifyingly clever, award-winning comedian, writer, children's book author and now Shakespearean actor.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesAssistant Producers: Ribika Moktan and Sofia PopovaProduction co-ordinator: Josie HardyEditor: Andrea Kennedy
Martha Kearney is a titan of news and political broadcasting who these days takes a more relaxed approach to her work, swapping the campaign trail for a nature trail.
Matt Haig can do it all, fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books - and we’re all aboard for his latest novel the Midnight Train - but it's Winnie the Pooh that
Ian Fletcher, Earl Grantham, Mr Brown…are but some of the much loved characters of Hugh Bonneville - he’s now turned his hand to a children’s book where, as we’ll hear, the most unbelievable stories within it are true!
All that, plus the Inheritance Tracks of Prue Leith.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Lowri MorganResearcher: Jesse Edwards and Josie HardyEditor: Andrea Kennedy
Adrian Chiles presents Radio 4's Saturday morning show.
Our wonderful guests today include JJ Chalmers, who has been a design-technology teacher, Royal Marine and Invictus games medallist. He is now a regular presenter on Television and Radio.
We also have with us a legend of the food and restaurant world, Ruth Rogers.
And a couple of podcasting Dads - Matthew Carter and Lawrence Price - who’ve got fellow fathers to come together and share their feelings by offering classes in braiding girls’ hair.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the actor Jason Watkins.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesAssistant Producer: Ribika Moktan and Lowri MorganResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Andrea Kennedy
On today's programme, Adrian Chiles is with Steve Backshall. The adventurer and naturalist has captivated all of us with his work, but especially children - millions of them - who he’s led wide-eyed into the natural world.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce is blessed with a similar gift for capturing the imagination of children, as well as grownups. The esteemed screenwriter is presently the Children’s Laureate. Frank will be appearing on the programme ahead of his appearance at the Children's Laureate Lecture called The Kids Are Not Alright, which is being held on Thursday 14 May at the Royal Institution in London.
And amazing storytellers though Frank and Steve are, even they might struggle to do justice to the tale of what Natalie Queiroz has been through. Her work campaigning for the victims of crime has earned her a well-deserved MBE.
Also, we'll hear the Inheritance Tracks of broadcaster and journalist Nick Robinson.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy
And if you have been affected by any of the details discussed in today’s programme, you can find information for help and support in the UK at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall found his calling in the countryside of Gloucestershire and Devon to become a cook on the wild side championing seasonal and sustainable ingredients.
Lucy Shepherd is our explorer who has navigated her way from the safety of the Suffolk countryside to the amazon and arctic, including the Cardiff studio.
And Jonathan Shalit, who began writing music reviews at school and ended up managing the talents of some of the biggest names in music and show business.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the beauty entrepreneur and author Liz Earle.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesAssistant Producers: Ribika Moktan and Lowri MorganResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Andrea Kennedy
On today's programme, Adrian is joined with a poet, an actor and a woman who has been through a military coup in the 1960s.
Joseph Coelho the poet was raised in a tower block in Roehampton. He wrote his way into the role of children’s laureate and fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Lesley Nicol, the actress, grew up in Irlam, Greater Manchester and ended up in Downtown Abbey. Some journey that for Mrs Patmore, the cook who, disappointingly, can’t cook in real life.
And Tari Lang who grew up in Jakarta and has written a coming of age memoir in the middle of the military coup which saw at least half-a-million people lose their lives in Indonesia. Plus the Inheritance Tracks from the singer-songwriter Laura Mvula.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies Assistant Producers: Ribika Moktan and Lowri Morgan Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Andrea Kennedy
John Robins is a critically-acclaimed comic with awards a-plenty, and now a blistering memoir "Thirst; worked around Twelve Drinks That Changed My Life.
Arit Anderson of Gardeners’ World is on her way to the centre of the gardening world, the Chelsea Flower Show, where she’s creating a special space for those with Parkinson's.
Starting with a distressed raccoon she found in a bloke’s garage, Lindsey McKenna’s spent the last 15 years saving two hundred exotic animals.
We'll be thanking six burly men who, 27 years ago, lifted up and carried a car containing a heavily pregnant listener of ours, off the hard shoulder of the M25.
Two brothers are pleased as punch to be reunited, after forty years, with their late father’s Austin 35 racing green, racing car.
And we’ll get the Inheritance Tracks of the actor turned director James McAvoy.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Catherine PowellResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Colin Patterson
“Prankster” hardly does Dom Joly justice. He’s been a diplomat, a linguist, a traveller, a broadcaster, a writer and lots more besides.
Walter Iuzzolino is the "Walter" behind Channel 4’s Walter Presents series. A man who probably watches more TV from more countries than anyone else on the planet.
Dr Jaqueline Stroud, Professor of Soil Science at Warwick University, likes nothing better than eavesdropping on worms.
And we hear the Inheritance Tracks of the actor and star of The Pitt; Noah Wyle.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Catherine PowellResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Tansley
Today an adventurer, a chef and a composer.
From special forces to chief scout Bear Grylls likes a challenge, his latest being nothing less than a successful re-write of the story of Jesus.
Our chef is Chris Roberts, aka Flamebaster, whose key ingredients are food, fire and frightening levels of enthusiasm.
And our composer is Liz Lane, the sometime child prodigy, who found her gift for composition suited the sound of brass bands down to the ground.
All that, plus the rescue dog from Kampala who needed rescuing a second time by a man in a white van on a roundabout in Saffron Walden - and the Inheritance Tracks of Lesley Joseph.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Catherine PowellResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Powell
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Adrian spends the hour in the company of renowned TV producer John Lloyd, the modest genius mind behind such national institutions as Spitting Image, QI and Blackadder.
Also on the porgramme, Kala Subbuswamy who saw no reason why a middle-aged woman couldn't start a punk band, so did just that.
And Jazz Turner didn't let her disability stop her sailing solo around the British Isles, and now she plans to take on the world.
And the Inheritance Tracks of former presenter of BBC Breakfast and Saturday Live, now a consulting psychologist, and still broadcasting, most notably with the Radio 4 series Life Changing, Dr Sian Williams.
Presenter: Adrian Chiles Producer: Lowri MorganAssistant Producer: Catherine Powell & Alice McKee Researcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn Tansley
On Saturday Live this week, a virtuoso violinist, a singer with a powerful story of motherhood, love and grief, and the woman who made her fortune working out how we shop.
Adrian spends the hour in great company with Nigel Kennedy, Jess Mills and the hugely influential Edwina Dunn OBE.
Also today, we'll be hearing from a somewhat out of breath Greg James, pedalling his way from Weymouth to Edinburgh for Comic Relief.
And we are treated to a special performance by Nigel and his band - Alec Dankworth on double bass and Peter Adams on the cello.
This week's Inheritance Tracks comes from Adam Fleming.
Presenter: Adrian Chiles Producer: Lowri Morgan Assistant Producer: Alice McKeeResearcher: Jesse Edwards Editor: Glyn Tansley
(The live performance in this programme has been shortened for music rights reasons).
We’re in the company of an eminent foreign correspondent, a no less eminent expert in the field of flowers, and the woman who’s built the most beautiful spaces for cancer care.
Our journalist is our man in Moscow - our last man in Moscow, really - Steve Rosenberg.
Bringing colour, fragrance and joy to our studio is the queen of cut flowers, Sarah Raven.
And we’ll all be scattering rose petals at the feet of Dame Laura Lee for all her work leading the cancer support charity Maggies.
All that, plus the Inheritance Tracks of the comedian Mike Wozniak.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producers: Lowri Morgan and Alice McKeeResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Ed Prendeville
On Saturday Live this week we’ll be looking up, down and all over the place. Dame Maggie Aderin, space scientist, will have us looking to the skies in wonder before David Mearns, shipwreck hunter, takes us down into the ocean deep as we marvel at his life’s work - and a man never short of a sense of wonder is writer, actor, comedian, sailor and lover of alpacas...Griff Rhys Jones.
Also today, we’ll rise from the depths to the surface for some sea shantying from The Longest Johns - and we’ll be getting the Inheritance Tracks of Andy Zaltzman.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producers: Lowri Morgan and Alice McKeeResearcher: Angharad ButlerEditor: Glyn Tansley
(The live music performed in this programme has been shortened for music rights reasons)
Today we’re in the company of a billionaire, a hostage negotiator and the most sought after screenwriter in the business.
The screenwriter in question is Jack Thorne who’s now turned his considerable talent to a brilliant TV adaptation of Lord of the Flies.
Nicky Perfect says hostage negotiation is all about empathy, and less about talking than listening. And we’ll be all ears as she tells us what we can all learn from the techniques police negotiators use.
And we’ll certainly be paying close attention to what Welsh born billionaire Michael Moritz has to say to us, about his own story, and his telling of the story of his family which is fascinating, harrowing and inspiring in equal measure.
Also today the firefighter who spends his spare time being a Viking - and the Inheritance Tracks of Marian Keyes.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producers: Catherine Powell, Ribika Moktan, Imy HarperResearchers: Angharad Butler, Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Tansley
Today we have a comedian, a nun and an undertaker’s beautician.
Mark Steel says that when there’s a crisis afoot, while everyone else is panicking the comedians in the room are busy finding the funny side. This Mark’s done, with a book about what he calls his adventures in cancerland.
The remarkable Sister Libby Osgood, worked for NASA before she became a nun. Quite the career path that.
And Jayne Lownds - who brought her expertise as a high-street beautician into the family funeral business.
Also today the annual pancake race still being run more than 550 years after it started - and the Inheritance Tracks of Radio 1 DJ and boardgame designer Matt Edmondson.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Ribika MoktanResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Alexander Armstrong on life as a writer, Professor Patricia Wiltshire explains the role of a forensic botanist, Mackenzie Crook unveils the secrets behind his latest show.
We have a writer, a shepherdess, and a man in favour of doing more of nothing.
Our writer wrote one of the biggest books of the last 25 years. The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-time has brought joy to millions of children, and adults. And now Mark Haddon’s written a memoir just as memorable.
Our Shepherdess is almost certainly the only Shepherdess you can name. The Yorkshire Shepherdess herself, Amanda Owen, whose new tv series suggests her love of her farming life burns as brightly as ever.
And the man who wants us to give our brains a break is a neuroscientist who’s applied his considerable brain to the importance of giving all our tormented minds a bit more downtime. Dr Joseph Jebelli has a fascinating story to tell.
Also, we’ll be asking how many clowns can you fit into a church as we speak to the clown organising the 80th anniversary Joseph Grimaldi Service - and we’ll be enjoying the Inheritance Tracks of Mika.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Ribika MoktanResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Colin Patterson
Today's programme features a couple of very nice movers.
There’s Anton de Beke, fresh from the first night of the Strictly Tour to recount a life of dance and showbiz.
Lizzy Yarnold is used to moving at a rather more ferocious speed as our most successful winter Olympian.
Picking up on the sweet smell of success, Michael O’Shaugnassey is an expert in scents and uses them to access prisoners memories.
Also today, a man considered so dull that he’s won an award for it, and the Inheritance Tracks of Claire Foy.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Ribika MoktanResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Tansley
This week's programme is fashioned out of clay and stone, against a background of beautiful birdsong.
Our potter is the king of clay himself, Keith Brymer Jones, the big, friendly, funny, tearful face of The Great Pottery Throw Down.
Our stonemason, Jennie Regan, was taught her craft with the help of the King, and has returned the favour by carving some stone for him.
The birdsong will be supplied by Sean Ronayne who has managed to record the sound of all but two of Ireland’s 200 native bird species.
All that, plus, the winner of surely the UK’s most gruelling race - 268-miles of mid-winter madness along the Pennine Way - and we’ve the Inheritance Tracks of Mark Heap.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Ribika MoktanResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Gareth Nelson Davies
Jake Humphrey is a High Performance broadcaster - he's spoken openly about his mental health and what drives him, and in his podcast and new book he uncovers what makes the likes of Sir Chris Hoy and Sarina Wiegman tick.
Madelaine Thomas has excelled in not one but two fields. Firstly as a dominatrix and then as a tech entrepreneur helping others protect their privacy.
Dr Uy Hoang, also has two strings to his bow. As an eminent epidemiologist he maps the path of diseases. As an enthusiast for waterways he’s single-handedly photographing thousands of miles of tow paths for Google. Never mind streetview...this is canalview.
Also today, the surfer waiting to hear if she’s bagged the world record for riding a bigger wave than any other woman ever - and the Inheritance Tracks of the catsuit wearing, falsetto singing, rockstar Justin Hawkins.
Presenter: Adrian CharlesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Catherine PowellResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Tansley
Josh Widdicombe is about to take his stand up show on the road around the country and his latest new podcast series; Dr Helen Sharman talks about the time she became Britain’s first astronaut, and Finlay Wilson a Yoga teacher and author discusses all things yoga in all sorts of glorious Scottish settings.
Plus Emily Watson the actor with an astonishing list of theatre, film and television credits to her name, and an array of awards and nominations to match chooses her Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-DaviesAssistant Producer: Catherine Powell Researcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Colin Paterson
On this Christmas special edition of Saturday Live, we take a deep-dive into the world of board games.
Marcia Lewis’s has board games in her blood - her father was the creator of Cluedo.
Neil Scanllan holds not one, not two, but four world records for his remarkable collection of Monopoly sets.
Dr Harshan Lamabadusuriya, doctor by day, scrabble assassin by night, has had the best season of his life becoming the UK champion for the second time.
Also today, BBC Inside Science presenter Tom Whipple, shares with us the tips and tricks for winning some of Christmas’s classic family games - and the Mammoth star Mike Bubbins adds a sprinkling of 70’s Christmas nostalgia to proceedings.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Catherine PowellResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Tansley
The actor and art lover Russell Tovey - who’s not only on a mission to spread his love of art far and wide… but is humanity's best hope in the War between Land and Sea. There’s no hint of CGI in the warzones Sally Becker’s been to - the recipient of a Lifetime achievement award at this year’s Pride of Britain, she’s made it her life’s work to help children in some of the most unimaginable situations.
And Vanessa Ruck - who spent seven years recovering from a life-changing car accident… only to then learn to ride a motorbike and race it in extreme endurance events.
All that plus, a man who makes a living with his hand, head, and indeed his entire body inside some of the most iconic puppets on stage - and the Inheritance Tracks of the actor Paul Bettany.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Catherine PowellResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Tansley
Chris McCausland, funny, clever, excellent dancer, widely loved. The list goes on. His new autobiography "Keeping Laughing" charts his life and career across a twenty-five-year journey where he lost his sight but found moments of happiness and laughter along the way.
Douglas Roberston, survived being cast adrift in the pacific ocean for 38 days after a killer whale. Just a teenager at the time, he reveals the extremes he had to go to extremes to survive.
Another tackler of apparently insurmountable obstacles is Mila Stanzani a record-holding obstacle course racer hear to give us an insight into one of the newest sports at the next Olympics.
All that plus, an award-winning pigeon fancier and the Inheritance Tracks of New Zealand’s former Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Ribika MoktanResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Tansley
We’re in the company of Ben Miller, comedian, actor, writer and some time student of physics...here to tell us how Father Christmas can in fact deliver a gift to every child in just one night with his new book "The Night I Met Father Christmas".
Someone who has had an early Christmas present already is Lucy Steeds, who this week was crowned the winner of the Waterstones Book of the Year. She reveals the process of how her debut book, "The Artist", has become so successful - and how he channels her synaesthesia.
Grace Vella spent her childhood dreaming of becoming a professional footballer, she almost made it playing for Liverpool and Man City, but didn’t quite make the grade, so made football her business instead and has founded the women's sports brand Miss Kick.
All that, plus Hollie McRae, daughter of iconic rally driver Colin McCrae, tells us how she has become determined to keep rally driving in the family - and we have the shared Inheritance Tracks of Chris and Xand van Tulleken.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Catherine PowellResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Tansley
Michael Sheen is an actor, director and Welshman who describes his vision and impact of the Welsh National Theatre, exploring how the stage can reflect and shape national identity, and what can be learned from football scouts to find the next generation of talent.
Convicted fraudster Alex Wood reveals how he went from a would be child prodigy violinist to defrauding millions of pounds out of people. Now, he is a fraud hunter looking for personal redemption whilst helping the police and presenting Scam Secrets on Radio 4.
Jenny Häbry is a three time world champion and first female armoured MMA champion, she lifts the curtain on the world of armoured mixed martial arts, revealing the grit, discipline, and determination it takes to rise to the level of world champion.
Also, Emma Youell joins us live from Norfolk with her metal detector in hand - will she find anything? Plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of Jason Donovan.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producers: Lowri Morgan, Ribika Moktan and Catherine PowellResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Colin Paterson
On a wet and windy Saturday Live, Hollie Cook joins us to discuss a career that has seen her music streamed millions of times online, as well what it's like to be raised by a Sex Pistol - her dad, Paul Cook is with us too, still drumming up a storm half a century after it all started.
The almost indecently talented Jasmine Mitchell - completing a degree in medicine while finding time to win Bake Off by a country mile.
Extreme cleaner Ben Giles started out cleaning windows, and moved into cleaning crime scenes and all manner of unspeakable things.
Also today we talk to the award-winning TikToker championing the humble bus and we have the Inheritance Tracks of Barbra Streisand obsessive…Richard E Grant.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Lowri MorganResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Tansley
The acclaimed illustrator and children’s author Oliver Jeffers discuses the power of fatherhood in both his life and work, from his father's visionary education beliefs during The Troubles, to how his own role as a father feeds into his work - his new book is "I'm Very Busy".
Eleanor Thatcher, is a fifth generation cider maker, and the first woman in the family to join the senior leadership of Thatchers, she reveals the wise words that have been passed down the family tree.
Lesley Pearse is a prolific storyteller who has written multiple Sunday Times Bestsellers, but her own story is just as gripping as any told in her many well-loved novels.
We’ll also be talking to George and Joshua Kohler, the father and son duo setting records by cycling around the world together.
Also, another father and son team come together to share their Inheritance Tracks, Peter and Dan Snow.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Lowri MorganAssistant Producer: Josie HardyResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Ben Mitchell
Ken Follett has sold 200 million books around the world, in more than 80 countries and into 30 different languages. He made his breakthrough with spy thrillers before working his way back through time, and now we find him telling the story of the building of Stonehenge in his latest book, "Circle of Days".
The Macabees musician Felix White wanted to be a footballer, didn’t we all, until it became clear to him aged seven that he wasn’t good enough... so he turned to Football Manager by post. Football became his refuge when his mother became ill with MS, and his part memoir, part football and social history book, "Whatever Will Be Will Be" frames that life story of love and loss around the successive rounds of last year's FA Cup.
Sarah Nicolls is a skilled pianist and innovator who has become one of the few people to reinvent the piano, turning it quite literally on its head to create the vertical piano, which is not only being played using the keys but also the strings from within and the wood surround.
Also, an orchestra of noise from a parade of classic cars lined up on his front drive along Pall Mall.
Plus, the Inheritance Tracks of the comedian and author Miranda Hart.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Lowri MorganResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Tansley
Sir David Suchet has reignited his little grey cells to traverse the world, following in the footsteps of the great Agatha Christie in a new book and television series "Travels with Agatha Christie".
Tony Foster is also a keen traveller, as an adventure artist he has ventured deep into the world’s wildernesses, painting 17,000ft up Mount Everest and in the very heart of the Grand Canyon.
Stacey McNeil is someone else who finds inspiration from nature and expresses it through her art - after being unable to find a card to send a friend struggling with their mental health...so made one herself and now her Fox Under the Moon business has sold cards and books into over 25 countries.
Also, a couple of dragons fighting it out in the streets of Glastonbury for the pagan Samhain festival.
Plus, the Inheritance Tracks of the broadcaster, author and Faithful...Clare Balding.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Lowri MorganResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Glyn Tansley
Peter James is one of the UK's bestselling authors who's Detective Grace series now hosts Queen Camila in a staring role, by Royal request, in his latest novel "The Hawk is Dead". But this isn't his first familial involvement with the Royal family, as his mother was the official glovemaker to Queen Elizabeth II.
Jim Ashworth-Beaumont was a former army veteran and skilled prosthetics expert - until one day a dramatic crash with a lorry, whilst out cycling, left him needing his own expertise.
Elizabeth Ashdown is one of only 4 remaining passementerie artists in the UK – a trade that creates elaborate decorative trimmings, such as tassels and trim for the clothing of Kings and furnishings of stately homes.
Also, someone else who is keeping ancient heritage skills alive is Russell Parker who comes to us LIVE from the Cotswold Hedgelaying championships to tell us all about the craft.
All that...plus the Inheritance Tracks of Philippa Gregory.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben MitchellAssistant Producer: Lowri MorganResearcher: Jesse EdwardsEditor: Colin Patterson
It’s often said that one pretty sure route to happiness is to find something you love doing, and then make a career out of doing it, and seems to be exactly what Susie Dent has managed to do with her lifelong fascination with words. In her new book "The Roots We Share" Susie spreads her love of language.
Fekky grew up in Lewisham, and used music as his escape from a life of gangs and violence. But during lockdown he, like many of us, found his green fingers and has since upped sticks and moved to the countryside to set-up his own farm, charting his experiences on his YouTube channel "Hood2Farm".
Richard Sharp began an urban wine collective after a holiday in France to a vineyard opened his eye to the power of community projects. Grapes from allotments, balconies, public gardens all across London are harvested and brought together to create a single unique wine.
Also, three time World Champion Plougher, John Hill, joins us LIVE from the British National Championships.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of Joanna Lumley.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben Mitchell
Priscilla Presley met Elvis in Germany aged 14, moving with him to Graceland at 17 before their marriage, but despite the glamour surrounding their lives, Priscilla’s experience was marked by emotional complexity. In her new memoir, 'Softly as I Leave You', she reveals how she felt she was “living his life”.
Ann Cleeves has written 37 novels, garnering huge critical acclaim. Her work’s been translated into more than 20 languages, including television, with adaptations of her work yielding ITV’s Vera and the BBC’s Shetland. Her latest 'The Killing Stones' sees the return of DCI Jimmy Perez.
Vincent Thurkettle gave up a secure job with the Forestry Commission to pursue a life of gold prospecting at age 40 after he calculated his life expectancy was much less than he hoped. He is now best known for discovering Britain’s largest gold nugget, 97g, about the size of a small chicken egg in a shipwreck off the coast of Anglesey.
Also, Ursula Martin, the woman who decided to walk her way past cancer. 10 years and 10,000 miles on, she’s still walking.
Plus the inheritance tracks of Davina McCall.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben Mitchell
Mary Portas revolutionised the art of window dressing during her time at Harvey Nichols when, still in her 20's, she rose beyond the all male leadership team to bring the brand into the 21st Century and grab headlines for their displays. In her new memoir "I Shop, Therefore I Am" she lets us see through the shop window to reveal the untold stories behind the success.
Dr Grace Spence Green had been dreaming about becoming a paediatrician ever since she was seven years-old. But after a freak incident at a shopping centre she thought that future had been lost. Her breath-taking story is inspirational.
Adam Lind walked from Birmingham to London to prove that the kindness of strangers still exists. His interest in community living and searching for happiness came from a trip to India and is continued on the 2,000 miles of the UK waterways on his canal boat.
All that plus a thank you to the French family who found a missing niece, a the revved up reverend pushing his pedal to the metal in Belgium, and the Inheritance Tracks of Joanna Page.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben Mitchell
We all know Lulu for her breakout hit Shout, voicing the theme tune to James Bond's The Man With a Golden Gun, and winning Eurovision in an unprecedented 4-way tie. But, in her new memoir If You Only Knew, she reveals how her childhood in Glasgow was marked by trauma, her father was an alcoholic and mother never fully came to terms with being given away as a baby. Sami Tamimi first arrived in London from Palestine, in 1997, as a wide-eyed chef in his twenties looking to shake up the Arabic food scene in London. He soon met and befriended Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi and despite the obvious differences from their homelands they became the best of friends and together redefined middle-eastern cooking in the UK. But despite having co-written dozens of cookbooks - Boustany, is the first he has written solo.
After hitting rock bottom following his divorce, then fashion product developer Doran Binder, bought a struggling pub. Little did he know that underneath was exceptionally high quality water. He has not only bottled it, but has become the UK's first water sommelier.
All that, plus the woman soaring her way through grief in a hot air balloon, a thank you for a quite remarkable act of kindness, and the Inheritance Tracks of film critic, writer and broadcaster, Mark Kermode.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben Mitchell
Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith have worked together for three decades on the likes of The League of Gentlemen and Inside No. 9. But, despite creating some of television's most twisted characters the pair are, as far as we can tell, relatively normal off-screen - Reece is a keen home-baker and Steve loves a good cryptic crossword.
Today John Amaechi is a psychologist and leadership consultant, but in a previous life he was an NBA star. But, John spent most of his childhood in Stockport feeling lonely, bullied for his height and weight, he hated sport. But a chance encounter with a basketball coach in the street that saw this 6'10" teenager stars align.
One of Molly Earl's earliest memories as a child is rescuing bees with her amateur beeping father. Today she rescues swarms of bees destined for extermination for a living and has given refuge to millions of bees creating 250 established hives around St Austell - where she turns their efforts into award-winning honey.
All that, plus the Inheritance Tracks of The Da Vinci Code author, Dan Brown.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben Mitchell
Former Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen, shares his guide to hope and happiness during troubling times in the world and after his battle against Covid-19 during the pandemic - plus he reveals the joy of returning to work with "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" illustrator, Helen Oxenbury, for the first time in more than 30 years with "Oh Dear, Look What I Got!".
Kristie De Garis is a writer, photographer and one of the few female dry stone wallers in the UK. Based in Perthshire, she fixes the cracks in both the countryside and at home, as she lives with her two children and two ex-husbands.
Journalist and professional ghost-writer, Zoë Apostolides, creates memoirs for those who are old or dying to pass down to their family - but it was the creation of her own grandmothers memoirs during lockdown that revealed more than she thought.
All that, plus former Strictly star Oti Mabuse shares her Inheritance Tracks.
Presenter: Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben Mitchell
Adam Kay from delivering babies to delivering punchlines, the former obs and gynae doctor turned BAFTA-winning writer and comedian, now stitches together stories in his bestselling books.
The beloved voice of Dexys Midnight Runners and Dexys - the singer-songwriter Kevin Rowland. He’s traded melodies for memories in his raw and revealing memoir.
And penning stories, teaching other writers and also throwing punches - the author Anna Whitwham proves she’s as fierce a pugilist as she is a wordsmith.
Plus, the Inheritance Tracks from the journalist, writer and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Award-winning historian, broadcaster, and author Bettany Hughes wrote her first book when she was just five years old. Now she's written her first ever children's book, as part of her mission to make history accessible to all.
Jay McGuiness swapped the glittery Strictly ballroom and The Wanted tour bus for the West End stage - and now has written a fantasy trilogy!
And Dave Fishwick - the real Dave behind the hit Netflix film 'The Bank of Dave' - shares his inspiring life story, which all started with a chip butty...
All that plus, the Inheritance Tracks of much-loved TV presenter Ade Adepitan.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens. Producer: Lowri Morgan.
Mother of champions and former tennis star and coach herself... Judy Murray has swapped a killer forehand for the mighty pen.
Richard Turner is a cult survivor who knows a thing or two about love bombing, gaslighting and the prosperity gospel, but it was his autism diagnosis that opened his eyes to the truth.
Defne Suman, is an acclaimed Turkish author, and hatha yoga teacher, whose novels unearth forgotten histories and turn memory into literature with sociological insight.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of the 5Live presenter and noughties teen tv icon…Rick Edwards.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Lowri Rhiannon Morgan
Dudley’s finest, Sir Lenny Henry, has always used his comedic and acting talents to infuse characters with humour and heart - his Comic Relief work turned laughter into social impact and he now has a list of ‘brilliant things’ to share.
Violinist and Daughter of Dublin Aoife Ní Bhriain has, through her music, blended traditional Irish sounds with modern innovation, turning cultural roots into contemporary expressions.
And, hailing from Nottingham, former refuse worker turned screenwriter William Ivory’s discusses a cannon of films, which include Made in Dagenham, and lifts the curtain on how he elevates the mundane and gives voice to the overlooked.
All that plus, to get into the festival mood, the Inheritance Tracks of 6 Music’s Breakfast presenter Nick Grimshaw.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Kiri Pritchard-McLeanProducer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Double BAFTA winning and shapeshifting actor Adeel Akhtar has been seen on screen in Murdered by My Father, Sherwood and Fool Me Once and on stage he’s currently playing a politician in The Estate.
Terry Deary is the bestselling author of Horrible Histories and has now written his first adult crime thriller…Actually, I’m A Murderer.
And Charlotte Philby is the investigative journalist, author of spy thrillers, and has uncovered the women behind her grandfather's double life as one of the Cambridge Five.
All that...plus the “Never Ending” Inheritance Tracks of Kajagoogoo star and singer Limahl.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens
Producer: Catherine Powell
Actor, director and playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah on the big decisions he’s faced from changing his name to the Herculean task of writing a super-hero musical.
Mohammed Belal... Who became England's first paralysed surgeon after a cycling accident. He faced years of rehabilitation to return to work.
George Egg who mixes comedy and cooking and says good nosh doesn’t have to be posh and how cooking helped him after the death of his father.
Inheritance Tracks are picked by DJ-turned-novelist Fearne Cotton...
Presenters: Kiri Pritchard-MCLean and Jon KayProducer: Catherine Powell
A man who serves up laughs and heart in equal measure - teller of stories David Baddiel is a comedian, author, screenwriter and presenter who has most recently taken inspiration from the humble burger.
Mikey Please is the BAFTA winning short film maker. His stop-motion magic with Aardman Studios conjured the Oscar-nominated Robin Robin and has just won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.
And fresh from one of her many eating sprees, the globe-trotting foodie and sustainability sage Leyla Kazim joins us. The Food Programme presenter and judge on MasterChef reveals why she is relocating to Portugal for some ‘purposeful living’.
All that plus we have the supreme Inheritance Tracks of comedian - and now memoirist - Suzi Ruffell.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Catherine Powell
Ashley Walters, the powerhouse actor, producer and rapper, who’s delivered unforgettable performances in Top Boy and the recent global Netflix hit Adolescence, his memoir unveils a tapestry of his inner workings, woven with candour and introspection.
Rhys Darby is one of New Zealand’s finest comedy exports. Famous for his boundless curiosity and for blending quirky wit and brilliance he’ll tell us about being a real-life soldier and on-screen pirate. Plus his current stand-up tour.
And Helen Lederer joins us. The actor-writer-comedian who is busy rehearsing for her performance in Fawlty Towers on stage.
Plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of the broadcaster and writer Georgia Mann.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Fresh from her recent BAFTA success – the award-winning actress, writer and producer - Ruth Jones is with us. Ruth’s latest book of fiction is a story where the main character embarks on one last investigation for a council’s Unclaimed Heirs Unit... and along the way, the character discovers the importance of holding onto friendship and community.
He's the architectural alchemist who has guided us through communities around the UK, where people who turn their creative dreams into homes. The TV presenter and writer - Kevin McCloud – is with us under the canvas of this delightful Hay Festival tent.
And GT Karber is the mastermind behind the phenomenon – Murdle – a series of murder mystery puzzle books. Greg is the son of a judge and a civil rights attorney who grew up in the community of Arkansas in the United States. But he’s taken a break from conjuring up his puzzling and logical creations to join us in the Hay-on-Wye countryside.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the comedian Ivo Graham.
Presenters: Huw Stephens and Kiri Pritchard-McLean
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Writer Francesca Simon swapped Californian sunshine for life in the UK, where she created one of the most iconic characters in children’s literature — Horrid Henry. She joins us to talk fairy folklore, presidential ambitions, and the stories that shaped her.
Jude Kelly, founder of Women of the World and one of the UK’s most influential cultural figures, shares her journey from Toxteth to the South Bank.
Writer Sophie Pierce and artist Alex Murdin open up about how the wild beauty of Dartmoor helped them process the loss of their son, Felix — and how grief, love, and nature are deeply connected.
We’ll spin the wheel with potter Caitlin Jenkins, whose love of ceramics is rooted in family history.
And the landscape-loving writer and environmentalist Professor Robert Macfarlane brings us his Inheritance Tracks.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Catherine Powell
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Broadcaster Jeremy Vine, who disappointingly didn't make his way to the studio on a penny farthing is here in his capacity as an Agatha Christie loving author.
Poppy Okotcha, the model-turned-horticulturist, has swapped Vivienne Westwood runways for an edible and medicinal garden.
Dr. Jack Mosley, son of the late Michael Mosley, has shut out the food noise to continue his father's legacy.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of Nigel Havers.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
This programme has been changed for music rights reasons.
One of Britain's best former art forgers, ‘brushstroke alchemist’ David Henty, has been called a Master Craftsman of his art with over 30 years' experience, producing near original copies.
Sophie Pierce didn’t think she’d live to thirty but has just become the first person with cystic fibrosis to complete a world record breaking rowing challenge across the Atlantic.
The writer and illustrator Nick Butterworth, who was raised above a corner shop in Essex full of sweets, wasn't able to read until he was 8 - 70 years later and his Percy the Park Keeper book series has sold almost 9 million copies worldwide.
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of Archers icon Charles Collingwood as he celebrates 50 years in Ambridge.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Adrian ChilesProducer: Ben Mitchell
Oscar award winning lyricist Sir Tim Rice, the man behind some of the world's most beloved musicals. From Evita to The Lion King, he's currently on tour bringing his own life stories and hit-filled career to a stage near you.
Novelist Sareeta Domingo joins Saturday Live, she faced her own life altering plot-twist, when she was diagnosed with cancer. It proved to be more than a chapter to endure, it became a catalyst to re-examine who she is.
And Alan Toyne joins the programme, a former zookeeper and now writer with a gorilla-sized love for primates. He discusses his passion for understanding them and what it is like to live with one.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens Producer: Lowri Morgan
The writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth discusses his love of words and language.
Lorna Tucker is the fearless and celebrated filmmaker who rose from homelessness and a life of crime on the streets of Soho to Sundance glory.
And Paul Lamb the wagon-living-hedge-laying wizard, who weaves living masterpieces from nature’s tangle, restoring ancient countryside hedgerows and keeping alive a vanishing ancient craft.
Plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of the stand-up comedian and writer Sophie Duker.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
And if you’ve been affected by any of the things discussed in our conversation...there's information, help and support available at bbc.co.uk/actionline
The author Michael Morpurgo, whose stories have enchanted children across the world...he’s now turned to non-fiction with a book for adults proving that the most magical storytellers have very real lives. Journalist and writer John Harris is a music chronicler and critic of music and critic since the age of nineteen...music’s been a massive part of his life, and now more than ever as it’s worked a kind of magic his son James who has autism.
She bared all to help a friend, Tricia Stewart is one of the original Calendar Girls who helped transform a cheeky fundraising idea into a global phenomenon.
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of the BAFTA award winning actor, Gina McKee.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Adrian ChilesProducer: Catherine Powell
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
The career of BAFTA winning actor and funny woman Rebecca Front spans the stage, screen and now podcasting - she brings her unique blend of irreverence and being a ‘bit of a Pollyanna’ to the studio.
Natalie Chandler swapped her boots for the pen as a former professional rugby player who’s now tackling the world as a thriller writer – guided by her dreams and her ancestors.
And a living example of her work, curator and historian of textiles, dress and design Amber Butchart is currently making a 'Splash' by focusing on a century of swimming and style.
All that plus we drop the hammer on one of TVs best antique experts, Christina Trevanion, as she shares her Inheritance Tracks.
Presenters: Niki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Actor Sally Lindsay has gone from stealing scenes as Shelley Unwin in Coronation Street to creating and starring in The Madame Blanc Mysteries - and is passionate about fighting for working class talents in her industry.
Lorraine Kelly has been brightening our screens in the morning for decades with warmth, wit and her ability to put absolutely anyone at ease - and now can add debut novelist to her achievements.
After suffering with long covid, Alice Watkins swapped her job as a scenic artist in the theatre and became a ceramicist, letting clay take centre and making pieces made from kitchen waste!.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of the West End star who boasts a sublime vocal range and 25 percent of McFly as a brother – Carrie Hope Fletcher.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Lindsey Burrow who inspired the nation caring for her late husband, the rugby league legend Rob Burrow, as he lived with MND, shares her story of love, loss, resilience and advocacy.
At the age of sixteen, Connor Allen attacked his own mum and she reported him to police, but his life turned around thanks to support from his teachers at trial to become the Welsh Children’s Laureate and multi-disciplinary artist.
Multi-disciplinary is something I could add to John McFall’s description too; former Paralympian, surgeon, and now the first person with a physical disability to be cleared to take part in a mission to the International Space Station.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of The Crown and Chernobyl actor Jared Harris.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Steven Frayne, better known as the illusionist and magician Dynamo, has made the impossible look effortless: walking on water, levitating above London and somehow keeping his secrets. His new show marks a new chapter, where he uses his magic to spotlight everyday heroes across the UK, returning to the street magic that first launched his career.
From backing vocals for Wham! to pop stardom with Pepsi & Shirlie, Pepsi Demacque-Crocket has now woven her St Lucian roots into her writing, with a memoir, a debut novel, and a lifetime of stories to tell.
Comedian writer and mental health advocate Harriet Dyer sees comedy as just one of her superpowers and shares how she died not once, but twice with her trademark unfiltered honesty.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of broadcaster and Irish dance child prodigy Steph McGovern.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Internationally lauded, bestselling novelist, Kate Mosse is celebrating big this year, with both the 20th anniversary of her iconic novel Labyrinth, and the 30th edition of the Women’s Prize for Fiction announced later this year.
Maher Fattouh, a football loving student who was blinded by an explosion as he fled Syria in 2014 but discovered that true vision comes from resilience not sight.
Photographer Dola Posh has an eye for beauty, truth and the spaces in between, she explores themes of motherhood, identity and Black women's experiences.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of actor, musician and Eurovision contestant Olly Alexander.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Nisha Katona, former barrister now Mistress of Spices, Mowgli restaurant mogul, TV presenter and host of new show Home Kitchen - she’s described herself as a culinary Womble.
Astronomer Mark Thompson is famous for unravelling the mysteries of the universe and the world of STEM., on TV and on tour, telescope in one hand and a sense of wonder in the other.
Phoebe ‘Wander Woman’ Smith is with us, adventurer, author, extreme sleeper and podcaster whose latest book weaves together her personal journey with insights into the ancient pilgrim paths of Britain.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of Oscar nominated auteur Jesse Eisenberg.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman who’s transformed the literary landscape, broken boundaries and redefined storytelling, brings her brand of honesty and unfiltered storytelling to the stage with Pig Heart Boy.
Cat Burford, aka The Molar Explorer, navigates both teeth and tundras, balancing dentistry with daring polar expeditions - and has returned from Antarctica to join us.
The mythological author Claire Fayers isn't scared by lions, tigers and bears...she deals with Giants, Ghosts and Goblins.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of Oscar nominated actor Felicity Jones.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Cook, author, broadcaster and former Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain knows how to turn up the heat in the kitchen and how to quietly contemplate life. Her new book is a love letter to her food and her religion.
Dr Kate Hays helps us keep our cool under pressure, as the FA’s performance psychologist currently working with the Lionesses, she's seen the highs and lows that sport has to offer.
Tim Sullivan is the film and tv writer turned crime author who has swapped My Little Pony for the criminal underbelly in his DS Cross series.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of Radio 2 star, The Good Groove’s DJ Spoony.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Gardening Guru Monty Don, who’s sown seeds of sustainability, cultivated lawns of loyal fans, travelled the world and has grown his wise and warm reputation by sharing personal experiences.
Beth Jones is a tattooist whose body-art is empowering breast cancer survivors, proving that inking can be therapeutic and transformative.
Danny Gray has not only redefined men’s grooming with his makeup brand but is also on a mission to break down stigmas in beauty and in men’s mental health.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of actor and yellow waterproof trendsetter Eve Myles.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
The literary alchemist Jackie Kay, poet, author and playwright, whose words dance between the very personal and the universal - she wants us to Coorie Doon.
We’ve scored a bullseye in getting darts referee and LGBT+ ambassador Huw Ware on the show...so…game on!
Sir Peter Murray, the visionary sculptor of landscapes and minds alike reveals how he went from an educationalist to founder of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of Professor Alice Roberts are dug up.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Tiffany Murray grew up watching legendary rock stars eat her mother’s food...David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Ozzie Osbourne and Siouxsie Sioux, to name but a few. She shares what it was like to grow up at the iconic Rockfield Studios.
Actor Sam Oladeinde gave up a career in law to become Aaron Burr, Sir, in the UK and Ireland tour of Hamilton. But what has he taken from his previous profession into life on the stage.
Mared Pugh Evans is the seventh official harpist to His Majesty the King, her sound is so sublime it could summon the angels but she’s also an innovator...and passionate music evangelist for in the community.
All that, plus the Inheritance Tracks of Sophie Ellis Bextor as she prepares to sing us into the New Year.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Gordon Buchanan, the world-renowned wildlife filmmaker, takes us through the mud, sweat and tears, and lions, tigers and bears that have shaped his extraordinary career.
Abby Furness, the singer-songwriter and social media influencer, has become an advocate for resilience after her harrowing experience with a cyber-stalker...
Imam Emad Choudhary, the UK's only spiritual leader and police detective, whose dual roles allow him to build bridges between diverse communities.
All that, and the Inheritance Tracks of a cheesemonger, winemonger and musicmonger, Blur bassist Alex James.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
The hypnotic charmer and master of psychological illusion Derren Brown blurs the line between magic, psychology, and theatre and he’s won two Olivier Awards for that showmanship - as well as his latest show 'Only Human' Derren steps into Springfield for the Simpsons Christmas special.
As a child, Abigail Tinnion was brought up on folk-stories and horror films, that inspired her art-work where myth, legend, and imagination collide.
Rob Parsons, founder of the charity Care for the Family, lives his life reminding us that the heart of society begins with hearth and home after a knock at the door 45 years ago reconnected him with a lost friend from the past.
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of actor, writer and real-life detectorist Mackenzie Crook.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
The actress Tracy Ann Oberman is back playing Shylock in 'The Merchant of Venice: 1936' - a version inspired by the life of her great-grandmother who stood on the frontline against the fascists at the Battle of Cable Street.
Laura Henry-Allain also tells us how she was inspired by her Gran Gran and the stories she shared that helped Laura create the UK’s first animated series about a Black British family…'JoJo and Gran Gran'.
Ben Branson joins, the maverick behind the non-alcoholic spirits company Seedlip, hosts the podcast 'The Hidden 20%' where he shares conversations with fellow neuro-divergent people.
All that, plus we have the I-Ts of K-J-T – that’s the Inheritance Tracks of Olympic medallist Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Amar Latif, the trailblazing adventurer who as a blind rambler and fearless globetrotter, treks paths that many of us wouldn’t dare, proving that vision is about perspective, not sight.
Dirt detective Professor Lorna Dawson is armed with her trowel and cutting-edge forensic science, she’s revolutionised crime-solving from the ground up.
James Middleton, entrepreneur, ideas man and brother to the Princess of Wales. From crafting bespoke marshmallows to creating a pet wellness brand, a champion of good mental health and animal welfare, his late dog Ella saved his life.
All that, plus the Inheritance Tracks of Hollywood actor and West End musical star, Luke Evans.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Actor Martin Clunes, who although now has hung up his stethoscope, will forever be Doc Martin for some. But, these days he's busy meeting remarkable animals; from search-and-rescue dogs to mine-sniffing rats and therapy horses.
The mighty Sabrina Pace-Humphreys is here, she’s a trailblazing ultra-runner, author and activist, who not only tackles gruelling terrain but also breaks down barriers; encouraging diversity every step of the way.
Richard Armitage is an actor, author and voice-over artist who has thrilled us for over two decades - from Spooks, The Hobbit and North & South to Harlan Coben's hit Netflix dramas - making him the only man on the programme for whom spying, dragons and Victorian etiquette are all in a day’s work.
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of the comedian, broadcaster and soon to be celebrity gladiator contestant...Ellie Taylor.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Celebrated chef, restaurateur and TV star Rick Stein, is more than a master of seafood - he’s a well-travelled storyteller with a deep-seated love for food that transcends borders. He has a new heart and a fresh outlook on life.
Andy Cato, best known as one half of the pioneering electronic duo Groove Armada, is equal parts DJ, musician and forward-thinker - and now mostly a pioneering sustainable agriculture farmer.
Lady Anne Glenconner is an aristocrat, author, former lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret. She’s lived a life that reads like a dramatic novel - from royal escapades and tumultuous relationships to personal tragedies; but always with glamour and grit.
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of the author, broadcaster and lover of the outdoors, Kate Humble.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Phil Wang, who says he wouldn’t be a comedian if he wasn’t of mixed heritage, Malaysian and British, his latest Netflix special opens on the subject of reheating rice and how in the west we’re afraid to do that…so what does his dual heritage allow him to do
A question we could also put to Chitra Soundar, the award-winning children’s writer, who grew up in India, and whose books have inspired the new BBC animated sitcom Nikhil & Jay which is about two Indian/British dual heritage brothers.
Nigel McCrery, the man who created the hit TV series Silent Witness and who’s written over a dozen novels, reveals the details about his involvement in the DNA identification of the Russian Royal family.
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of the former Time Lord and master of spin Peter Capaldi.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Nihal ArthanayakeProducer: Ben Mitchell
The global explorer, TV presenter and author Simon Reeve makes programmes around the world which focus on people’s lives...and he’s been arrested by the KGB, chased by cheetahs and nearly died from malaria.
Liz McConaghy spent seventeen years as a Chinook crewman with the RAF, the longest serving woman to do so, her deployments left scars on her soul but has now found a way to soothe them.
Lalage Snow, photojournalist and filmmaker, has covered war and unrest in the in Gaza, The West Bank, Israel, Eastern Ukraine - but has now found that the peaceful act of people gardening brings out the best stories.
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of the broadcaster and proud Brummie – Adrian Chiles.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Lindsay Nicholson, who, after studying astrophysics, chose journalism as a career, became Good Housekeeping’s editor for two decades and is now a grief counsellor, equestrian coach and writer... none of which are rocket science. She talks about the loss of her husband and daughter to cancer, and the car accident that led to her life’s third act.
Skiing and climbing up and down mountains are Alpinist Fay Manners’ life. But, recently in the Himalayas she experienced the indiscriminate power of Mother Nature and was stranded for three days. Thankfully she survived and lives to tell the tale.
Jon Sopel, formerly the BBC’s North America Editor, now a co-presenter of The News Agents, discusses the familial sacrifices that allowed him to further his career and reveals what he took from Air Force One.
All that, plus the Inheritance Tracks of the comedy power couple and podcasters, Chris and Rosie Ramsey.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
One of the world’s best known and bestselling authors Jodi Picoult is no stranger to controversy, some of her books have been banned in the US, and her latest novel might just ruffle a few ruffs here too as she looks to bust the myths we hold about the truth behind who wrote Shakespeare's plays.
The actor and DJ Kristian Nairn, perhaps best known as the gentle giant Hodor in Game of Thrones, has written a memoir sharing stories about his life coming of age as a gay man during The troubles in Northern Ireland and finding his confidence as a drag queen called Revvlon.
And Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn reveal what happened when they quit their 9-5 jobs, went on a pilgrimage around the Southern US states, and learned the dark art of American BBQ.
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of actor, author and the voice of Danger Mouse and Hey Dugge - Alexander Armstrong.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Lindsey Hilsum, who brings us stories from current wars as the International Editor for Channel 4 News and her latest book mixes memoir with powerful poems.
Bestselling author Robert Harris who writes imaginatively about past wars.
Also, chef Jon Watts whose life changed forever when he signed up for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards whilst serving time as a teenager. He’ll be sharing his story.
All that, plus the Inheritance Tracks of actor and author Celia Imrie.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi & Huw Stephens
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Frenchman Fred Sirieix who's gone from front of house at the crème de la crème of London's restaurants, to fronting TV shows, to now writing a book on his love of Britain.
We hear what sort of urge it was that took Shetland raised journalist Jen Stout over to Russia to study, then onto Ukraine to cover the war.
Plus, screenwriter and playwright Jeff Young joins us to tell us why he quit his job as a filing clerk to hitchhike to Paris.
Two-time Sunday Times bestselling author Candice Brathwaite shares with us her Inheritance Tracks.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi & Huw Stephens Producer: Lowri Morgan
Culinary maestro Yotam Ottolenghi, the man who’s transformed the way we think about Middle Eastern flavours, vegetables, and the art of home cooking joins us to chat 'Comfort' food.
We welcome Livi Deane, a model and beautician, who’s written a book about living with lifechanging impaired vision and a prosthetic eye, as a result of a rare form of eye cancer.
And historian siblings David and Yinka Olusoga join us to discuss their new book 'Black History for Every Day of the Year' and will be share some of their own life story with us
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of comedian, presenter, actor and creator of Keith Lemon, Leigh Francis.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Who better to kick-off Saturday Live's return than the historian by day and superstar DJ by night Dan Jones, who chats all things Henry the fifth and lay down a few beats as well.
From Ace to Grace, Warren Furman reveals how his life has drastically changed from being homeless, to becoming a Gladiator and now a fully-fledged man of the cloth.
And the multi-award-winning folk musician Cara Dillon shares how her love of home and how telling stories through music has helped her connect to family members she never even met.
All that, plus the Inheritance Tracks of musician, comedian and the lyricist who brought us Matilda the Musical – Tim Minchin.
Presenters: Huw Stephens and Kiri Pritchard-McLean
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Welcome to the brightest and boldest of Saturday Lives as fashion-designer Dame Zandra Rhodes arrives. Perhaps as famous as the garments which have adorned the likes of Princess Diana and Freddie Mercury as she is for her neon-pink hair - She has now published her memoir through the prism of 50 of her most precious items.
Matt Forde has, I think it’s safe to say, had a tough year health-wise, he’ll explain how he’s still able to see the funny side of life – and take inspiration from Taylor Swift as he heads back out on tour for the first time since his cancer treatment. Anyone who dreams of living on a deserted island needs to hear the story of Simon Parker. His island is in the Bristol Channel, it’s owned by the local council, and it used to be home to Vikings and cholera victims. Simon will tell us why he has chosen to call Flat Home “home”.
All that, plus the Inheritance Tracks of the musical power couple, Carrie and David Grant.
Presenters: Jon Kay and Kiri Pritchard-McLeanProducer: Ben Mitchell
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
The author Joanne Harris, who describes herself as ‘test-driver of experimental dream machines who sometimes writes a bit’, grew up living above her grandparents sweetshop and celebrates the 25th anniversary of Chocolat this year.
The multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter Jack Garratt shot to fame in 2016 and became one of the UK’s brightest new music stars, toured the world, before taking a step back from public life to protect his mental health.
And the mighty comedic classicist Natalie Haynes, who continues to turn the ancient world on its head, championing women of the past, returns to the airwaves with the 10th series of her hit Radio 4 podcast Natalie Haynes Stands up for Classics.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of doctor turned bestselling author Adam Kay...and we promise they’re not going to hurt.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Rob Rinder…barrister, broadcaster, occasional orchestra conductor, lover of Amazing Hotels, currently on our TVs travelling through Italy with Rylan - and now bestselling author with his latest novel The Suspect.
Beer sommelier and one of the best brewers in the UK, Jaega Wise reveals how she went from pop star to hop star to judging at this years BBC Food and Farming Awards.
And Martin Sixsmith, former BBC foreign correspondent, adviser to both the Labour government under Tony Blair and Armando Iannucci on The Thick of It! Now the author of two novels, famous for the non-fiction book that became the Oscar nominated film Philomena, and has just released a new work about the Dutch resistance during WWII.
All that plus I’ve never had a dream come true until the day that Rachel Stevens chooses her Inheritance Tracks. Luckily, today is that day – the singer will be reaching for the stars to share them with us.
Writer Sebastian Faulks, recently described as ‘a state of the species novelist’, famous for his historical stories, he’s now taking us into the future exploring what it means to be human in new book The Seventh Son.
The cautious traveller Sarah Brooks, reveals how her life was changed after a vodka fuelled evening in a dining car on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Punch-lines on the touchline...comedian and football podcaster Maisie Adam has torn herself away from the Euros coverage to join us and tell us about her new tour and her recent job appraisal.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of quizmaster extraordinaire Paul Sinha.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay Producer: Lowri Morgan
The Journalist and presenter Ashley John-Baptiste, who’s written a very moving memoir about growing up in care.
The Lahore born poet Imtiaz Dharker will be appearing on the programme. We’ll be talking about what’s made her identify as a Scottish, Pakistani, Calvinist, Muslim who’s been adopted by India and Wales.
Plus, landscape and garden designer Miria Harris who has used her own experience of a medical emergency to design a garden to help others with their recovery.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of writer and presenter Danny Robins.
Presenters: Jon Kay and Nikki Bedi.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
The Journalist and presenter Ashley John-Baptiste, who’s written a very moving memoir about growing up in care.
The Lahore born poet Imtiaz Dharker will be appearing on the programme. We’ll be talking about what’s made her identify as a Scottish, Pakistani, Calvinist, Muslim who’s been adopted by India and Wales.
Plus, landscape and garden designer Miria Harris who has used her own experience of a medical emergency to design a garden to help others with their recovery.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of writer and presenter Danny Robins.
Presenters: Jon Kay and Nikki Bedi.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
We’re kicking off the festival season in style, and in the sun, with three very different books…but who’s authors have more in common than you may think.
This week’s events haven’t stopped Mishal Husain making her way to us this weekend – for what will surely be the only down time she’ll have over the next 6 weeks. Mishal’s new memoir charts her families experiences through partition and the events which have allowed her to become one of the UK’s most trusted journalists.
Stephen and Anita Mangan have promised not to steal each other's pocket money or put bubblegum in eachother’s hair and behave for the next hour. The brother and sister writing duo have cracked the code for what it takes to work with your sibling having written 5 books together – but it was their debut work that allowed them to channel familial grief.
The emperor of historical fiction, Conn Iggulden, has taken a break from playing his fiddle whilst ancient Rome burns to join us in the Hay-on-Wye countryside. But for someone who has made a living from writing about the history – it's the story of his parents who both lived it and taught it that perhaps should
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of the actor, comedian and new host of the Great British Sewing Bee – Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
Presenters: Huw Stephens and Kiri Pritchard-McLeanProducer: Ben Mitchell
The bestselling, prolific screenwriter and author of the Hawthorne series Anthony Horowitz… whose creative achievements may be further admired and perhaps understood when he reveals what he’s overcome with the relationship with his father.
Possessed with a similar drive, Capt. Preet Chandi is with us, now the fastest woman to cross Antarctica she shares the passion that drives her to keep breaking world records!
And BAFTA winning actor Kimberley Nixon, famous for her roles in Fresh Meat and Cranford, but has found new fame thanks to the silly jokes she shares to open up the conversation about her perinatal OCD.
All that, plus the Inheritance Tracks from one of the minds behind League of Gentleman and Inside Number 9, Reece Shearsmith.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer Ben Mitchell
If you've been affected by any of the topics discussed in this programme you can find links and information to organisations who can help on the BBC Action Line: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
Mary Beard unearths some of the fascinating little-known stories that helped build the Roman Empire in her new series of Being Roman, and reveals how a cake is responsible for making her Britain’s best-known classicist.
From the senate and the people of Rome to the Sherlock Holmes of Tudor England – star of the new Shardlake series, Arthur Hughes joins us. Born with a rare condition affecting his right arm, Arthur was the first disabled actor to swap his kingdom for a horse and portray Richard III at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
How a story of star-crossed lovers helped bring together two friends thanks to a collection of lost letters written more than 80 years ago. Dawn Donkin and Theresa Moon are with us.
All that, plus the podcasting power-couple responsible for their son Jack...Michael and Hilary Whitehall share their Inheritance Tracks.
Presenters: Huw Stephens and Kiri Pritchard-McLeanProducer: Ben Mitchell
The Titan of Tartan Noir, crime writer Val McDermid, who grew up playing in the ruins of Macduff's castle, shines a new light on Lady Macbeth in her new book, and tells us show she became addicted to video games.
Nicola Nuttall has written a beautiful memoir about helping her daughter Laura make the most of her final days living with brain cancer…Laura had an extraordinary bucket list to complete in the last 12 months of her life; from going on Safari and flying a helicopter to meeting Michelle Obama and Malala Yousafzai.
In the run up to her first world title fight, Olympic gold-medal-winning boxer Lauren Price reveals the powerful story behind her nickname ‘the lucky one’.
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of former Made in Chelsea star turned entrepreneur, presenter, podcaster and so much more - Jamie Laing.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Birmingham’s unofficial global ambassador, Steven Knight, who did as much for flat caps as he did for Brum by creating Peaky Blinders and he’s now taking us back to the West Midlands of the 1980’s with his latest TV series This Town.
Catherine Coldstream had a bohemian upbringing in London, lived in Paris and fell in love with "unsuitable propositions in dark polo necks" and then, spent twelve years cloistered, as a Carmelite nun.
The social and domestic historian Ruth Goodman, famous for her hit TV series taking us back to Tudor, Victorian and Edwardian times, is currently revealing the curious history of our homes in her new podcast; from wallpaper to fridges and washing up.
And this week’s Inheritance Tracks see the ultra-marathon running, American football obsessive, and fellow radio presenter Vernon Kay share with us the music that’s shaped his life.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Racing driver Nic Hamilton is the first disabled athlete to compete in the British Touring Car Championship. Born with cerebral palsy and told he would always need to use a wheelchair, he certainly embodies his self-given title of ‘limit defier’ and shares how he proved everyone wrong in his new book 'Now That I Have Your Attention'.
Victoria McCloud, the recently retired first trans woman judge in the UK, left because she felt she risked making the judiciary political, but her first interests weren't the law...instead she came to the profession via psychiatry, space, and an obsession with old computers.
We have not one but two world class puppeteers on the show in Josh Elwell and Eliot Gibbins. Both can operate Daleks and have a Tardis full of stories to share - as well as some special guest appearances from some of their creations.
All that plus another double act choosing their Inheritance Tracks in comedians and real-life couple Marcus Brigstocke and Rachel Parris.
And if you’ve been affected by anything we’ve spoken about today details of organisations offering information and support with addiction are available on the BBC Action Line: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
The broadcaster, marathon runner, and proud parent to her life saving stoma Audrey, Adele Roberts reveals how she overcame cancer wrote a book and danced on ice.
Writer and comedian Ben Elton whose new stand-up tour highlights his trademark incisive social commentary by exploring authentic stupidity.
David Duke went from sleeping rough and living in hostels to playing football in the Homeless World Cup and founding the Street Soccer Scotland charity helping thousands of other homeless people through the power of football.
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of chef, restaurateur and podcaster Angela Hartnett.
And if you’ve been affected by anything we’ve spoken about today details of organisations offering information and support with addiction are available on the BBC Action Line: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
The irrepressible Tom Shakespeare shares how the boy nicknamed 'The Blob' at school went on to become a bioethicist, disability rights advocate, and now a debut novelist.
Kate Silverton has swapped the newsroom for the therapists couch having retrained as a child counsellor. She has also become a bestselling author and her latest book maintains that there's still no such thing as being naughty.
Did you struggle at maths with school? Having been diagnosed with dyslexia and dyscalculia as a child Rebecca Ginger did too. She has recently given up a successful career in the tv industry to create her own method of making learning maths fun after seeing her daughter struggle with the subject herself.
All that, plus we have the Inheritance Tracks of comedian, presenter and latest Taskmaster contestant, John Robins.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
One of Yorkshire’s finest, the actor famous for Fat Friends, Coronation Street and Emmerdale, Gaynor Faye. She’s making her directorial debut with the stage adaptation of The Syndicate, written by her mother; the late, great Kay Mellor.
Tommy Blaize is the voice of Strictly. He’s been singing on the show since the very first episode. But today he reveals the family DNA secret that unlocked the story behind his musical talents.
What do you get when you walk the UK’s 19,000-mile coastline, apart from blisters? For former paratrooper Christian Lewis, it was a dog, a partner, a baby and a renewed sense of purpose.
All that, plus we have the joyous Inheritance Tracks of natural history presenter Liz Bonin.
And if you’ve been affected by anything we’ve spoken about today details of organisations offering information and support with addiction are available on the BBC Action Line: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Rear Admiral Jude Terry, the first woman to hold flag rank in The Royal Navy, keeps us ship shape and shares how a rebellious teenager became the highest ranking female member of the Navy.
Ready to send us to the sin bin Sara Cox, not that one, reveals how she "walked through stinging nettles" to become the world's first professional female rugby union referee and inspire a whole generation of officials.
And the professionally ‘shattered’ comedian and writer Ashley Blaker, father of six children tells us why some of them are Coldplays and others, Zappas.
Plus, we have the Inheritance Tracks of musician, broadcaster and voice of Desert Island Discs Lauren Laverne.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Entertainer, actor, comedian, author and very clever man, Julian Clary joins us, he makes disdain and innuendo hilarious and he’s back onstage playing Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar.
When Christopher Samuel picked up a biro and drew a picture of himself, it changed his life. He’ll tell us how he’s now using art to challenge the perceptions of disability.
And having both served time, the award-winning hosts of the ‘Life After Prison’ podcast Zak Addae-Kodua and Jules Rowan tell us how they aim to reduce post-prison stigma and help people figure out ‘what’s next’.
Plus, we have the Inheritance Tracks of Eastenders’ actor and ‘Off the Telly’ podcast host Natalie Cassidy.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi & Jon KayProducer: Lowri Morgan
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Jennie Gow, the journalist and BBC motor racing presenter who is navigating her post-stroke life and plans to be back on air for the Formula 1 this season.
Sarah Marsh, the deaf author who has written a debut novel about a deaf woman finding her identity in a hearing world.
And sailor Ken Fowler who circumnavigated every island in England and Wales, solo, in a 4m dinghy called Yoda.
And don't miss the Inheritance Tracks of the comedian Alex Horne who is on Channel 4’s hit comedy game-show and this week, we’ve given him the task of assisting us with choosing his musical choices.
Presenters: Jon Kay and Nikki Bedi
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Chris Anderson, an entrepreneur with a unique background as the son of missionaries and now the head of the TED organization, advocates for the power of Infectious Generosity as the ultimate idea worth spreading.
Jane Cholmeley, once a feminist bookseller and now an author, shares her journey of running Europe's largest women's bookstore amidst challenges of homophobia and misogyny.
Daisy Goodwin, a prolific television producer, screenwriter, and bestselling novelist, known for bringing iconic shows like Grand Designs and Victoria to the world, delves into her latest book exploring the life of the legendary Diva, Maria Callas.
And don't miss the Inheritance Tracks of 'Da Gerry' from Derry Girls, as we hear from the witty comedian and talk show host Tommy Tiernan.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Glyn Tansley
Today - our guests inhabit very different worlds...
One exists in kindness, James Timpson, the businessman and philanthropist - whose new book The Happy Index - puts happiness at the top of his business plans.
Marianna Spring on the other hand, spends much of her life in a world filled with nastiness and trolls, and asks Why Do You Hate Me? in her new podcast.
And Callum Scott Howells inhabits and interprets other people’s lives for our pleasure, currently starring in A View from the Bridge on the stage and The Way on the small screen.
Plus, we have the Inheritance Tracks of Antipodean comedian, TV presenter and para-standing tennis player Adam Hills.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
National sweetheart, and very silly boy, Joe Lycett adds some pizazz to proceedings...as he talks art, Queen's Heath and his special brand of public service vigilantism as he sets his sights on the water companies.
The writer, producer and creator behind landmark TV series; Queer as Folk, It’s A Sin, Years and Doctor Who, Russell T Davies, looks back on a ground-breaking career.
So much has happened in the life of Alison Lapper since that beautiful Mark Quinn sculpture, ‘Alison Lapper Pregnant’, sat proudly on The Fourth Plinth. She reveals how she processed the grief of the loss of her son into her latest exhibition.
And we have the Inheritance Tracks of The Grand Tour presenter Richard Hammond as he embarks on the trios penultimate outing.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Greg JamesProducer: Ben Mitchell
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues we discuss in this programme – you can find links to organisations that can help here: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
Bringing his trademark droll humour and a bit of poetry to proceedings…the actor and comedian Tim Key discusses his new collection and reveals the story behind one of the most remarkable acts kindness he received from a stranger.
He loves dogs, he loves sport and he’s one of the best in the world at commentating on both…we welcome the voice of a thousand sports Andrew Cotter.
Bringing us emotional repair through wool…Samantha Moore, the BAFTA nominated director of Visible Mending talks about the healing power of knitting and the joy of spinning a yarn.
Plus, we have the Inheritance Tracks of Test Match Special’s Jonathan Agnew.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Greg JamesProducer: Ben Mitchell
Tom Odell, the Ivor Novello Award winning musician discusses his new album 'Black Friday' and reveals why freshly baked cakes helped with his piano lessons.
Zoë Colville, aka The Chief Shepherdess, went from the madness of hairdressing in a trendy Soho salon in London, to the ‘relative’ tranquillity of tending sheep on a farm in Kent.
Boxer Nathan Heaney describes his journey from fighting with grief to being the underdog and now British Middleweight Champion.
Plus, we have the Inheritance Tracks of comedian and Love Island narrator Iain Stirling.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Greg JamesProducer: Lowri Morgan
Extending our knowledge of Imperial frontiers - journalist, author and Empire educator Sathnam Sanghera’s reveals why tea is the best medium to discuss the British Empire.
Crossing the final frontier with Libby Jackson - she boldly explores where none of us are likely to as The Head of Space Exploration at the UK Space Agency.
And the record-breaking Darren Edwards keeps crossing endurance frontiers after announcing his next challenge is to become the first disabled adventurer to complete the longest sit-ski expedition across the Antarctic.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of ceramic designer and Great Pottery Throw Down judge, Keith Brymer Jones.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Greg JamesProducer: Ben Mitchell
Bestselling writer, self-experimenter and host of Just One Thing, Michael Mosley is a man so keen on giving the nation ‘just one thing’ to do to improve our lives, that we’re soon going to run out of hours in the day to incorporate them all.
If the very thought of handmade chocolates makes you salivate, prepare to drool, because the master chocolatier behind the new Wonka film, Gabriella Cugno reveals how useful a chocolate teacup actually is.
And Julie Felix, Britain’s first professional Black ballerina who has been named in the New Year's Honours list, describes how after being told in 1970’s Britain that she had the wrong skin colour for ballet she pirouetted across the Atlantic to America where her career took off.
Plus, the Inheritance Tracks from a man of many jobs; weatherman, turned drummerman, turned Radio 2 early riser...Owain Wyn Evans.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Greg JamesProducer: Ben Mitchell
Ed Byrne, the stand-up comedian, describes how he turned to comedy as a way of coping with the loss of his younger brother in 2023.
With 2024 just around the corner, we’re celebrating the lovely achievements of our guests from the year past and some of yours too...
Artist Gareth Reid has painted King Charles, Graham Norton, and recently won Portrait Artist of the Decade with his interpretation of Dame Judi Dench.
Rogue Jones, the married singer-songwriters Ynyr Ifan and Bethan Mai, won the coveted Welsh Music Prize 2023 for their charming second album Dos Bebés
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of this year’s Masterchef Celebrity Champion, opera star and broadcaster Wynne Evans.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
CORRECTION: This programme has been edited since broadcast to include Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339: Laudate Dominum for Wynne Evans’ Inheritance Tracks
The creative polymath Mark Gatiss; actor, writer, director, producer, funny man and excellent purveyor of Christmas ghost stories - shares his love for the macabre.
By car, train, bus and...canoe - .The Hebridean Baker, Coinneach MacLeod, reveals the festive traditions of the Isle of Lewis.
And illustrator Lucy Claire who came to fame by honouring the likes of The Queen and Matthew Perry with art drawn from behind - shares her joy for craft and creativity at this time of year.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of broadcaster and Quizmaster extraordinaire; Sandi Toksvig.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Steven Moffat, the BAFTA and Emmy award winning TV writer and producer, famous for Doctor Who and Sherlock has made his debut as a playwright with The Unfriend returning to London’s West End.
Kelda Wood is the former GB Para-Canoeist, first adaptive-rower to row the Atlantic unsupported, and a charity founder, whose world turned upside down by not one...by two lifechanging incidents.
And the animator and illustrator Robin Shaw, the International Emmy Award winning director of The Tiger Who Came to Tea and brought The Snowman to life, now turns his attention to Mog for our festive television enjoyment.
Plus, we have the Inheritance Tracks of the actor and former Strictly Champion Kelvin Fletcher.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
From an animal loving Billericay boy to international supermodel turned designer - David Gandy has been the face of some of the worlds biggest brands.
The Scottish actor Sam Heughan is internationally famous for playing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser in Outlander but is also an award-winning businessman and bestselling author.
And the Queen of Harps, Catrin Finch, not only a classical harp virtuoso, she’s also a collaborator who exemplifies musical freedom and knows a thing or two about music’s healing powers.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of historian and broadcaster Lucy Worsley.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Author Katherine Rundell, winner of Waterstones’ Book of the Year 2023 for her fantastical and mythical ‘Impossible Creatures’, had a childhood filled with travel; from Kent, to Zimbabwe and Belgium - to an adult life filled with playfulness.
Steve Greenwood, one of the directors of Planet Earth III, has spent his life tracking-down impossible creatures and even discovered a new species of rat. Trekking through jungles, racing through deserts, being chase by Rhinos, the natural history producer explains how he tells animal stories with pictures.
And children’s author and traditional oral storyteller Atinuke reveals how she shares her heritage and stories from the Africa...especially her homeland, Nigeria.
Plus...the Inheritance Tracks of yarn-spinning, punchline-dropping, hip-hop-loving comedian Romesh Ranganathan.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Dan Snow, history conduit, broadcaster, podcaster and bestselling author grew up with two posters on his bedroom wall...one was of Kylie Minogue - the other was of the Duke of Wellington defeating Napoleon at Waterloo.
Corporal Rob Bugden is a former RAF parachute instructor whose career ended in an aerial collision which left him with life changing injuries. He now teaches the importance of resilience.
Psychiatrist, psychotherapist and gardener Marchelle Farrell has moved from the beaches and emerald hills of Trinidad to a country garden in Somerset - and her award-winning memoir, Uprooting, connects our external landscapes to the way we feel about ourselves
Plus, he moo-ves like Jagger - we have the Inheritance Tracks of farmer and broadcaster Adam Henson.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Italian chef, restaurateur, writer and buongustaio Aldo Zilli, learned to cook at his mother’s knee and started dreaming of his own Italian restaurants in 1970’s Soho, under the watchful eyes of the mafia, and at a time when you could only buy olive oil in a chemist.
Levy Rozman – the international chess master with millions of subscribers - who’s moving the game into the digital age after retiring from the game for the sake of his mental health.
Historian Phillipa Langley, not content with finding Richard III under a car park, she’s now looking to try and re-write British history once again hunting for the truth about the Princes in the Tower.
Plus the beautiful and powerful Inheritance Tracks of actor and comedian Miles Jupp.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Professor Hannah Fry, whose job involves demystifying data and exploring how science and tech will shape our futures, personally though, she’s realised that ‘Life isn’t a problem to be solved, it’s an experience to be had’. From body-building online star to social media sceptic. Oenone Forbat tell us how her life as a digital celebrity isn’t quite as glamorous as the filters might have us believe
And the legendary hair stylist Sam McKnight, reveals how a boy form a small Scottish mining town went on to style, shear and zhush the tresses of supermodels, pop goddesses and princesses.
Plus...the Inheritance Tracks of magician and illusionist Derren Brown.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Ross Kemp who, after leaving EastEnders, found his métier making BAFTA award winning documentaries and writing bestselling books…and he’s just written a memoir...
From Grant Mitchell to Cary Grant - Hollywood’s ultimate leading man - his daughter and producer of new ITV series Archie, Jennifer Grant, joins us.
Hari Budha Magar is a Gurkha veteran who lost both legs in Afghanistan and earlier this year made mountaineering history as the first double above the knee amputee to summit Everest.
Plus...ground control to Major Tim - we’ll be beaming in the Inheritance Tracks of Tim Peake.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
If you’re feeling adventurous this weekend, we have just the guest to inspire you. The world’s greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes joins us – but who inspires him?
Multi-award-winning author of The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory is here to cast a light on the unsung women of history.
The Man....The Voice....The Ostrich-farmer. Opera-singer Russell Watson has ditched his bow-tie to tell us why he’s now just as happy in his overalls.
Plus...we have the Inheritance Tracks of rock and roll reverend...Kate Bottley.
Presenters: Jon Kay and Dawn O'PorterProducer: Ben Mitchell
Dr Adam Rutherford is a geneticist, a broadcaster and science populariser and his latest book, aimed at young people, examines evolution, what race really is, and what makes us human.
Broadcaster and author Kate Humble will be sharing the inspiration behind her new book which sees her on a quest to define what makes a house a home.
And Peeps Nicol - who after being diagnosed with MS and then being widowed - wanted to find a new hobby. Peeps recently became a powerlifter and now at 71 years of age she’s deadlifting heavy weights. We’ll be hearing her story.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of chef and author Tom Kerridge.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Olly MannProducer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
CLARIFICATION: This programme has been edited since broadcast to remove an incidental reference to the death of Blair Peach in 1979, describing it as “murder”. Although the official investigation concluded that Blair Peach died from a blow to the skull with the evidence pointing to it being struck by a police officer, the subsequent inquest gave a verdict of death by misadventure.
Rory Bremner stand-up chameleon, actor and impressionist, who’s currently on tour as Chris Tarrant in the play Quiz, about the Millionaire cougher-case. He also reveals the shared passion for comedy he and his dad had, especially with the late Mike Yarwood, and how he is embracing his newly diagnosed ADHD.
The Gardeners World presenter Sue Kent, whose career has taken her from sports masseuse at the 2012 Olympics to award-winning garden designer, has lived with the physical consequences of the drug Thalidomide; taken by her mother whilst she was pregnant.
Bake Off’s first Italian winner Giuseppe Dell’Anno reveals how his training as an engineer, using accuracy and precision, raises the bar with his baking.
Plus...we have the Inheritance Tracks of the man who served tea for The Queen and Paddington Bear – star of Ghosts, Simon Farnaby.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Olly MannProducer: Ben Mitchell
She wanders, rambles, saunters and strolls…and has made a career out of walking in the great outdoors…broadcaster and writer Julia Bradbury’s new book Walk Yourself Happy discusses the power of nature in the light of her cancer battle.
Fresh from the depths of the ocean this years Wildlife Photographer of the Year Laurent Ballesta, who dives to incredible places to bring us images never-before-seen, describes the lengths he went to to capture the winning image.
Comedian and novelist Mark Watson shares the eight deaths he has experienced and life after them in his memoir Mortification; from his struggles with alcohol, marriage breakdown, and battles with mental health.
Plus...Countryfile’s Helen Skelton shares her one album Inheritance Tracks.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Olly MannProducer: Ben Mitchell
The England rugby star Danny Cipriani, who became just as famous off the pitch as on it, is regularly described as one of the most talented rugby players of his generation. He shares an insight in to his life on and off the pitch.
Podcaster Paige Lewin talks about her aim of creating a better world for afro and curly hair communities.
Dr Allison Angell is the UK’s first person to have four organ transplants and who is now a GP.
And finally actor Alan Fletcher – who most famously played the role of Karl Kennedy in the television series Neighbours – has just released his first solo album. He shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Presenter: Nikki Bedi and Olly Mann.Producer: Ben Mitchell
Colin Jackson has spent his life hurdling one thing or another, be it breaking world records, or down barriers, the Olympian turned broadcaster continues to inspire the next generation of athletes.
He’s written for The Kumars at No. 42, and Goodness Gracious Me, now Suk Pannu reveals how his 'Asian aunties' inspired his new book 'Mrs Sidhu: Dead and Scone' and why cosy culinary crime may be the next big thing.
She's traversed the famous Lands’ End to John O' Groats route, climbed Kilimanjaro, and recently completed a 1,000 mile cycle around the coastline of Scotland - all in the memory of her three late children, who sadly all passed away in their 40s, from unrelated causes. But, what sets Mavis apart - is she’s 85 years old - and with two hip and knee replacements she has earned the nickname Bionic Grannie Mave.
All that plus the Inheritance Tracks of comedian and actor and star of new BBC comedy 'Juice'; Mawaan Rizwan.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Olly MannProducer: Ben Mitchell
He’s started but nowhere near finished, the master mind of BBC News presenter, Italian road-tripper and writer Clive Myrie. Having just released his memoir 'Everything is Everything', Clive reveals the paper round that inspired him to become a journalist and what it takes to find the humanity to report from the frontlines of a warzone. From Port Talbot to Glyndebourne, Adele Thomas is and opera director famed for her dynamic, intensely physical productions. But once told she would never fit into the world of Opera she has spent a career proving people wrong.
The internationally acclaimed, double Palm D’Or winning director Ken Loach, still comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable six decades into his career discusses what potentially may be his final film 'The Old Oak'.
Plus.....we have the Inheritance Tracks of comedian, political commentator, and author of 'The British Bloke Recoded'; Geoff Norcott.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
The sparkling South African Strictly star, Johannes Radebe, who was one half of the history-making same sex male couple, discusses a childhood of bullying, poverty and identity in his new memoir; 'Jojo: Finally Home'.Louise Boyce, best known by her social-media handle 'Mama Still Got It', has vlogged her journey from model, to mum, to influencer to prove the industry wrong who had once told her that having children would end her career.Plus, the multi-talented, multi-stented, outright king of live comedy Jason Byrne reveals how he turned his open heart surgery into comedy.And the former Pointless star and now bestselling crime-writer Richard Osman shares his Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon KayProducer: Ben Mitchell
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Jon Culshaw's big break came when convincing the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, in a prank phone call that HE was the then Conservative leader William Hague - an infamous moment in his life for which he was called an imposter. Since then, he’s built up a repertoire of 350 celebrity voices, starred in 23 series of Dead Ringers and joins us live from the Edinburgh Festival where he’s starring in his new show, Imposter Syndrome.
Tommy Jessop is an actor, a campaigner and has just had his first book published, 'A Life Worth Living’. In 2007, he became the first actor with Down Syndrome to star in a primetime BBC Drama in the film ‘Coming Down the Mountain’ and has gone onto tour theatres as Hamlet and played Terry Boyle in 'Line of Duty’.
This year’s Great British Sewing Bee champion Asmaa Al-allak spent her formative years growing up in Iraq. Her grandmother was a seamstress who passed her skills on to Asmaa’s mother, who in turn taught her and after winning the series, Asmaa said it’s fair to say ‘it’s in the blood’. After leaving Iraq at the age of 14, having lived through the Iran-Iraq war, Asmaa and her family moved to Durham where her father was working as a scientist. She went on to study medicine and is now a consultant breast surgeon at a cancer centre in Cardiff.
Also - the first in our '...In Nature' series where we hear from artists and creatives about how they are inspired by the natural world. Today is the turn of printmaker and wood engraver Molly Lemon.
And...the Inheritance Tracks of Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay Producer: Ben Mitchell
Peggy Seeger is often described as the godmother of folk. She was married to Ewan McColl who led the British Folk Revival in the late 50s and 60’s and wrote The First Time Ever I Saw your Face, for her. Peggy’s been singing since the age of two; has played guitar, banjo, piano, electroharp, the concertina and Appalachian dulcimer. All of this is not surprising given she’s a member of the North American musical Seeger family.
Many songwriters have penned the lyrics – Love Changes Everything and in Ruth Birch’s case – it certainly did. Ruth was forced to leave the job she loved after the "horrific" experience of being interrogated by military police over her sexuality. She was an analyst in the Intelligence Corps having joined the Army in 1987 – where it was illegal to be gay until the year 2000 - and was investigated over her same sex relationship with Ju - who was an officer as they served together in Northern Ireland in the 1990s.
Dame Tanni Grey Thompson is one of the country’s greatest sports stars. A Baroness, gold medals aplenty, sits on the board of many organizations, TV and radio presenter and Mastermind veteran. Need we say more.
All that – plus the Inheritance Tracks of metal music icon Dave Mustaine.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jason Mohammad Producer: Ben Mitchell
Carrie and David Grant are best known as the expert vocal coaches from Fame Academy to Carrie and David's Pop Shop. But, they’re new book 'A Very Modern Family' charts their parenting experiences in the hope that it will help other families in similar circumstances.
The scientist and presenter Professor Turi King, whose genealogy, forensics and archaeological finds helped her identify Richard III during his car park exhumation.
Bringing the funny to proceedings stand-up comedian Nabil Abdulrashid has gone from a finalist on Britain’s Grot Talent to making a Pilgrimage on the BBC Two show.
All that – plus the Inheritance Tracks of Rob Rinder.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jason Mohammad Producers: Ben Mitchell and Glyn Tansley
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Countryfile, Woman’s Hour, and dazzling audiences on the Strictly Dancefloor – Anita Rani is a hugely popular and award-winning presenter whose Indian ancestry means a lot to her - and it was her experience on Who Do You Think You Are? that planted the seed for her debut novel “Baby Does a Runner".
Max Dickins is a stand-up comedian and author who has performed thousands of gigs and 3 hour solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. His latest book ‘Billy No Mates’ is a memoir which touches on some really important and emotional issues about loneliness and why so many men are so bad at friendship.
Nadeem Perera is a wildlife host and co-founder of the birdwatching collective “Flock Together”. He grew up in the London Docklands but was often taken back to Sri Lanka by his mother and it was the nature of her homeland that inspired him to become a naturalist.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the mellifluous actor and musician Minnie Driver.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jason Mohammad
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Dawn O’Porter reigned supreme in the area of TV that wanted the presenter ‘immersed’ in the subject; exploring the dangerous size-zero aesthetic, attitudes to nudity, mail order brides, geisha traditions and most personally perhaps, breast cancer, the disease to which she lost her mother. But since 2006 she’s refocused her attention to the written word having penned eight books, with two more on the way, her latest is Cat Lady.
Believe it or not the new football season is just three weeks away. But Robert Kasanga is worlds away from the big money world of Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp. Having turned his life around from a world of inner-city gangs to founding Hackney Wick FC – a club that gives young people involved in gangs a way out through football.
Nick Hounsfield began his career as an osteopath, following in the footsteps of his father, and set up his own practice alongside his wife. A passionate surfer since he was knee high to a grasshopper, Nick has since founded The Wave, a pioneering artificial surfing park which opened its first site near Bristol in 2019. But less than a year later, at the age of 46, Nick suffered a series of strokes, and his infant business was forced to close because of the pandeminc.
And we’ll hear the Inheritance Tracks of DJ turned author and podcaster Annie Mac.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jason Mohammad Producer: Ben Mitchell
Details of support for bereavement and victims of crime is available at BBC Action Line: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
Today we welcome the writer, broadcaster and journalist Jimi Famurewa.
Martin Roberts, the broadcaster, property expert and host of BBC Television series Homes Under the Hammer.
And the founder of the Tuneless Choir, Nadine Cooper.
Plus, we’ll hear the Inheritance Tracks from 'kitchen disco queen' and singer, Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Jason Mohammad.
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Radio 4's Saturday morning show brings you extraordinary stories and remarkable people.
Today we say 'kia ora' to Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, opera legend and Patron of the BBC Cardiff Singer of The World - which is in it's 40th anniversary year.
With a story of ‘hidden roots’, singer Joe Jaquest Oteng reveals the huge family secrets he unearthed after the death of his father, which took his search to Ghana.
And we’ll hear the Inheritance Tracks of the wonderful actor Tanya Moodie.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens
Producer: Ben Mitchell
The actor, memoirist and ‘woman relishing Old Rage’ Dame Sheila Hancock looks back on her storied career having worked at the top of the game for seven decades.
The multi-hyphenate Vogue Williams, model, podcaster, media star, business woman and mother of three describes what the podcast world has done for her.
Engineering presenter Fran Scott, famous for her fiery TV demonstrations, reveals the secrets of how to build an F1 car.
And we’ll hear the Inheritance Tracks of actor, rapper and writer Ben Bailey Smith.
Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Eoin Colfer, the international bestselling Artemis Fowl author reveals why he’s tackling climate change via a graphic novel and how you write subjects like this for children.Taking on the challenge of the great outdoors in a very personal way, is hairdresser Alan Bateson who's about to run 1,047 miles in 22 days...we’ll find out why! Tackling each other’s very different views, on the 75th anniversary of Windrush, we have squabbling couple Jennifer Beckford and Professor Robert Beckford. And we’ll hear the Inheritance Tracks of Supergrass frontman and solo singer Gaz Coombes.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben MitchellDetails of support for addiction and child sexual abuse is available at BBC Action Line: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
Live from the Hay Festival Nikki and Huw are joined by the model, presenter and writer Lisa Snowdon whose book 'Just Getting Started' urges women, especially those who’re menopausing, to seize their power.Author, travel writer, broadcaster and local boy Horatio Clare has been asking ‘Does Psychiatry Work’ in his latest radio series and as someone who understands psychosis personally, he may have some good insights. More empowering guidance is at hand in the shape of the irrepressible TikTok star and funny woman Fats Timbo with her ten commandments to live with 'Main Character Energy'. And The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, shares his Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
We’re all standing to attention, as the paragon of discipline, former SAS member Billy Billingham and chief instructor on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins talks about how he's gone from a life of crime to towing the line. Louise Minchin is a broadcaster who spent twenty years on the BBC Breakfast sofa, but did you know she is passionate about endurance sports? Her latest book "Fearless" sees her taking on physical challenges with inspirational women.And completing the Circle of Life are the leonine brothers and longest serving cast members of The Lion King, actors Shaun Escoffery and George Asprey.Former A & E doctor, Love Island star and mental health campaigner Dr Alex George shares his Inheritance Tracks. Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Multi-hyphenate Steve Jones, TV presenter, podcaster, novelist and librocubicularist, discusses his debut novel Call Time.Not one for lying in bed reading, Gardener's World gardener Rekha Mistry reveals what it takes to make great marmalade. Freya Bromley, author and podcaster of The Tidal Year, expounds upon the virtues of swimming in every tidal pool in the UK and how it helped her grief.Ghost and Horrible Histories star, Mathew Baynton, shares his Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Huw StephensProducer: Ben Mitchell
Bestselling novelist AJ Pearce, whose work has been inspired by a personal collection of women’s magazines and journals dating back to 1761! Her new book, "Mrs Porter Calling", is the third in her Emmy Lake Chronicles, set in London during The Second World War.Ian Holloway, the celebrated football manager and pundit, whose post-match interviews do wonders for the English language, reveals what it was like balancing the abuse he received on the pitch with coming to terms with raising three children who were born profoundly deaf.The next big thing from Aardman Animations, Magdalena Osinska, charts how her journey from Warsaw to Bristol has led her to writing and directing her very own stop-motion Star Wars film - "I Am Your Mother".The Booker Prize winning author Douglas Stuart shares his Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Peter CurranProducer: Ben Mitchell
Dr Chris Van Tulleken's new book, Ultra-Processed People: Why do we all eat stuff that isn’t food, untangles our relationship with fast food, bad food and maybe even your breakfast. The poet and artist Frieda Hughes, daughter of famed Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, has written about her experiences saving a wild Magpie, George, and why she now lives with 14 owls, two huskies, a Maltese terrier, five chinchillas, a ferret called 'Socks', a Royal python and her collection of motorbikes. Artist and animator Gary Andrews has worked for Disney and brought Fireman Sam to life - but possibly his most powerful work was created whilst he illustrated his way through the grief of loosing his wife. Alex Jones, broadcaster and host of The One Show and Reunion Hotel, shares her Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Peter CurranProducer: Ben MitchellDetails of support with eating disorders is available at BBC Action Line: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
Ghosts, Steth Lets Flats and Ted Lasso star, Katy Wix, talks about her life through the medium of...cake. Her memoir Delicacy uses the sweet treat to frame the biggest moments of her life.Janina Ramirez, author of the bestselling Femina and President of the Gloucester History Festival, reveals why she gave up a career as a punk rocker to regale us all with stories of ancients civilisations.As a dark chapter in Ukraine's history continues to be written, Solomiya Znak from the Ukraine Opera and Ballet Company of Kyiv, describes how art is helping to cast a ray of hope.Sir Tony Robinson, actor, broadcaster and host of new podcast Cunningcast, shares his Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Peter CurranProducer: Ben MitchellDetails of support with eating disorders is available at BBC Action Line: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
The designer and business-woman Cath Kidston reveals the person beyond the patterns - and explains how she's moved away from drawing flowers to drawing on the natural properties of them for her new business venture.Stig Abell's career spans from running the Press Complaints commission, managing editor of The Sun and Times Radio breakfast show presenter. But, he can now add crime fiction novelist to his extensive CV with the publication of Death Under a Little Sky.Wheelchair rugby star and Olympic gold medallist Kylie Grimes discusses the sport's expansion and champions getting more women into sport of all kinds.Musician Rufus Wainwright shares his inheritance tracks.
Designer and broadcaster, Anna Ryder Richardson, reveals why she gave up her celebrity life and go full "Matt Damon" when she bought a zoo and moved her family to rural Wales.During the first lockdown with all his performances cancelled, the writer and opera star Peter Brathwaite, began researching his Barbadian roots, uncovering both enslaved and enslaver ancestors.Lee Skeet had to give up his dream after a hit and run accident saw him forced out of the kitchen for over three years. The former head chef at a Michelin starred restaurant, who trained under Gordan Ramsey and Marcus Wareing, has just opened his new restaurant named after his son who also survived the incident that changed his life.Broadcaster Sophie Raworth shares her Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Peter CurranProducer: Ben Mitchell
Broadcaster and biological anthropologist Alice Roberts reveals the secret behind the UK's fascination with castles.Chris Howard, one of the creators of David Attenborough's Wild Isles, discusses the trials and tribulations of filming the elusive beaver.Scottish-Egyptian musicians The Ayoub Sisters perform their revival of an old Arabic folk song; live in the studio.Author and Broadcaster Elizabeth Day shares her Inheritance Tracks.Presenters: Nikki Bedi and Peter CurranProducer: Ben Mitchell
Harlan Coben joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The multiple award-winning thriller writer has sold over 80 million books, many of which have been adapted for TV. The Netflix adaption of Fool Me Once is currently being filmed. A New Jersey native, Harlan's latest book I Will Find You explores the darker side of suburban living.Fergus Durrant and Romy Dixon found something unexpected in his father’s effects, a discovery that was to lead them on a journey made 125 years earlier.James Phillips won the ARIAS Best New Presenter Gold award for 2022 and a Bronze award for his National Prison Radio programme, The Rock Show. James talks about the events that led him to prison and his life now, after serving his sentence.Matthew Modine shares his Inheritance Tracks: Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakamoto and On My Feelings by Ruby Modine.Dr Sian Williams has been an anchor of some of the BBC’s biggest shows, including BBC Breakfast. During her career she's also presented Saturday Live, and most recently Life Changing on Radio 4. Ten years ago she retrained as a psychologist and will talk about how her two areas of specialism collide. Producer: Claire Bartleet
Nikki Bedi and Shaun Keaveny are joined by Spencer Matthews, who gained fame in the reality tv series Made In Chelsea. Now an entrepreneur and broadcaster, Spencer has made a documentary which shows him looking for his brother who went missing on Mount Everest over 20 years ago.Comedian Rachel Parris joins us, talking about the power of seeking advice and how it has influenced her life. Dilly Carter is a straight-talking organiser who can be seen on TV as a decluttering expert. After spending her early years in a Sri Lankan orphanage Dilly was adopted and brought to England where her household was chaotic, inspiring her need to tidy. She'll tell her story.How many of us have sat around thinking of an app that would make us millions? That’s what Dhiraj Mukherjee did - with the help of friends, when they came up with the idea of Shazam, the music identification service. He joins us to tell us how he got there, and how it wasn’t quite as simple as it might seem.We also have the inheritance tracks of Anneka Rice who chooses Joan Baez There but for fortune and Nina Simone, Feeling Good.And your Thank you!Producer: Corinna Jones
Nikki Bedi and Shaun Keaveny are joined by Prue Leith, GBBO judge, restaurateur, novelist and now with a one woman show.Sarah Raven on her journey from inauspicious school career to training as a doctor to purveyor of plants and writer - her latest book is A Year Full of Veg. Jenny Radcliffe has made a successful living from breaking into people’s homes and businesses, testing out security systems. She joins us to explain how she got into it. and Michelle Elman on showing her scars after years of operations as a child and reframing being selfish as loving yourself.Lily James chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Eric Bibb: The Cape, and Leanne Lehavas: Green Papya.And your Thank you.Producer: Corinna Jones
Lang Lang joins Nikki Bedi and Danny Wallace. The internationally renowned pianist has sold millions of albums and performed around the world. He started playing the piano age three and to follow his dreams his family made significant sacrifices. Lang Lang talks about his path to success, and why he wants to encourage others to perform. You can watch Lang Lang on The Piano, Channel 4 and his Disney Book album is out now. Until recently, Zainab Alema was working as a neonatal nurse. However, in 2021, she decided to follow her dream of becoming the first black Muslim woman to play rugby for England. Since then, she’s been committing to her life on the pitch whilst balancing the raising of three young children at the same time.Francis Bourgeois aka The Train Guy began making videos on trainspotting in early 2021 and quickly became an internet sensation. Since then he has achieved cult status, and millions of followers, championing unadulterated joy and the importance of embracing your passions. You can read about his adventures in The Trainspotter's Notebook.George Webster shares his Inheritance Tracks: I Feel by Teddy Thompson and Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.Iszi Lawrence is a comedian with a fascination for history, You can hear her on Radio 4’s Your Place or Mine alongside Shaun Keaveny, and she writes children’s historical adventures - the latest books are The Time Machine Next Door: Explorers and Milkshakes and The Time Machine Next Door: Scientists and Stripy Socks.Producer Claire Bartleet
Jojo Moyes joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The bestselling author has sold over 50 million novels and Me Before You was adapted into a film starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. Jojo talks about the inspirational for her new book Someone Else's Shoes, rebooting her life, and her unusual painting collection.Henry Naylor is an award-winning playwright but before that he wrote comedy satire for Spitting Image and Smith and Jones. His latest show Afghanistan is Not Funny looks back at a trip he made to Kabul in 2002.Aaron Horn’s life changed forever after a tragic accident involving his mother, when he was in his early 20s. Coming from a musical family, performing took on increased significance in helping Aaron deal with the resulting trauma.Carlo Rovelli chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Nothing Shines Unless It Burns by Belladonna and Fratres by Arvo Pärt. Anaximander and the Nature of Science is out now.Crime writer CJ Daugherty talks about her latest novel The Chase which is written under the pseudonym Ava Glass. With a female British spy at its centre, Ava talks about the real life experiences that inspired her.Producer: Claire Bartleet
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined in the studio by broadcaster Johnny Vaughan. Best known for his presenting stints on The Big Breakfast and radio shows on pretty much every network, Johnny now has a new podcast called Alien Kidnap Club in which he interviews people who believe they have encountered alien life. Actress Felicity Montagu stars in new series Beyond Paradise, which spins off from Death in Paradise. Known for her wide range of acting roles, especially playing Alan Partridge's long-suffering PA Lynn Benfield, Felicity talks about her life and career. In the nineties, Patrick Duff was poised to become a huge hit as the lead singer of the band Strangelove. They supported Radiohead and Suede on tours, and played Glastonbury's main stage twice. But Patrick was living with alcoholism, which ultimately led to the band's breakup before they had their chance at fame. Since then he has been performing with a huge range of singers and songwriters, including the legendary South African performer Madosini.After training as a stonemason, Beatrice Searle decided to complete a pilgrimage from Orkney to Nidaros Cathedral in the Norwegian city of Trondheim. As if that weren't challenging enough, she dragged a 40kg rock that she had plucked from an Orkney beach in a specially made cart behind her. She tells Nikki and Richard about this journey and its impact on her life.Andrew Roachford, known for hit single Cuddly Toy and for his work with Mike + the Mechanics, picks his Inheritance Tracks. And we have a Thank You from father and daughter John and Amelia.Producer: Tim Bano
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by writer, podcaster and ghost-botherer Danny Robins, behind the hit podcast The Battersea Poltergeist and smash West End play 2.22 A Ghost Story. TV presenter and inclusive travel expert Sophie Morgan is best known for presenting the London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. She talks about her life-changing injury, her recovery and the new series of Living Wild in which she embarks on an epic road trip across the UK. Psychologist Dr Julie Smith is on a mission to make mental health treatment more accessible to her 4.2 million followers on Tiktok. And Jack Friend is fresh from an extraordinary trip: he and his three brothers - two sets of twins - rowed across the Atlantic last year, spending 32 days at sea on a tiny boat. Plus a special Valentine's Day Thank You, and the Inheritance Tracks of TV presenter Sean Fletcher. Producer: Tim Bano
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Michael Rosen: Bear Hunt writer, broadcaster, covid survivor, national treasure… he tells us about his life lessons.Susanna Thornton tells us about her lifelong association with cycling and freedom – which led to a mammoth cycle from Hong Kong to London and many much smaller, wild bikepacking trips in the UK, which she documents online. She joins us.Actor Nikki Amuka Bird joins us to talk about her route into acting and her latest role. Nature writer and conservationist Nick Acheson spent winter 2020 on his mum’s red bike following the hundreds of thousands of geese that descend on his native Norfolk, he joins us. Former rugby union player Chris Robshaw chooses his tracks: If You Don’t Know Me By Now by Simply Red and California King Bed by Rihanna and we have your thank you.Producer: Corinna Jones
Haydn Gwynne joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The actor talks about her latest role in The Great British Bake Off Musical. Since deciding to pursue acting in her mid-twenties, Gwynne has had a varied career on stage and screen, including playing Camilla in The Windsors.Award winning composer Peter Raeburn’s work has ranged from films such as Sexy Beast to adverts including Guinness Surfer. Peter’s forthcoming album Recovery is based on his personal experiences after having life-saving brain-surgery. Caro Giles lives in rural Northumberland. Her memoir Twelve Moons reflects on the joys and difficulties of immersing herself in the environment that now surrounds her.Tom Allen shares his Inheritance Tracks: Saving All My Love for You by Whitney Houston and Chicago by Sufjan Stevens. Tom is on tour from1st February and his book Too Much is out now.Adam Henson is a farmer and presenter. He runs Cotswold Farm Park in Gloucestershire, which pioneers rare breed conservation and was opened by his father Joe in 1971. Television credits include Countryfile, Lambing Live, Coast and Inside Out. His latest book ‘Two For Joy’ looks at countryside superstitions and folklore.Producer: Claire Bartleet
Farmer and presenter Adam Henson, writer Caro Giles and Tom Allen's Inheritance Tracks.
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Miles Jupp, comedian, writer and actor who pops up in everything from the Vestry in Rev, the press room in The Thick of It, a Greek Island in The Durrells and recently, the desert in SAS Rogue Heroes. He's also written novels, radio series and presented the News Quiz.Cariad Lloyd is a comedian who lost her father at a young age and has since dealt with her grief through her podcast, Griefcast. She talks openly and honestly about grief and its effects with her guests, who include authors, comedians and other public figures. But how does death blend with comedy? She joins us.We also have author Anstey Harris, whose new fiction book has been inspired by her own adoption and research into her birth relatives. Connecting with a community of fellow adoptees on social media has helped her process some of the feelings she has had about her history. Dr Sean Kingsley is a Saturday Live listener who contacted us about researching his family story. When we heard he was also a marine archaeologist, we thought - let's get him on the show!Blake Harrington from The Inbetweeners chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses and Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen performed by Baz Luhrman.and we have your Thank You from someone you were unable to thank at the time. Producer: Corinna Jones
Vicky Pattison joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The podcaster and author was Crowned Queen of the Jungle in 2015. Gaining fame initially through the reality TV show Geordie Shore, Vicky reflects on the ups and downs of her life in the public eye and shares her experiences in her latest book The Secret to Happy.George Linnane is a caver who was rescued by 300 volunteers after 54 hours underground. One of those volunteers was Maxine Bateman. They discuss what happened and how George is recovering just over a year after the event.Natasha Lance Rogoff is an award-winning television producer. She has written, directed and produced numerous documentaries and children's television shows. Her book ‘Muppets in Moscow’ is about the challenges and successes of bringing Sesame Street to post-communist Russia in the 1990s.George Takei chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Mona Lisa by Nat King Cole and Don't Fence Me In by Gene Autry. George Takei's Allegiance is at the Charing Cross Theatre in London until the 8th April.Radio 1’s Matt Edmondson says he has spent his whole life trying to get thoughts out of his brain into the real world. So far, his interests have led him to broadcasting, magic, creating board games, TV formats and music. Producer: Claire Bartleet
Philippa Perry joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The psychotherapist, writer, agony aunt and broadcaster is married to the artist Grayson Perry. Her works include The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (And Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did).Peter Lantos tells the story of how he survived the Holocaust as a small child in Bergen-Belsen. He offers an extraordinary perspective of not just living through terrible events, but on making sense of them as well.Sean Gandini is a renowned juggling artist and performer. He grew up in Havana, Cuba, where he developed a fascination with magic and mathematics, eventually leading him to take up juggling at the age of 16. Eliza Carthy chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Good Morning, Mr Walker by Mighty Sparrow and Killer Queen by Queen.It’s been 21 years since a 12 year old Dani Harmer first appeared in children’s drama The Story of Tracy Beaker, based on Jacqueline Wilson’s books about growing up in a care home. Harmer has had a varied career outside the famous TV series, but explains why she's happy to see what Tracy's up to.The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die by Peter Lantos is out now. Sean Gandini with Kati will be performing The Games We Play as part of Mime London 2023 at The Place on the 20th and 21st of January. Eliza & Martin Carthy, and her band The Restitution, will be at The Barbican in London on Saturday 4th of February.The new series of The Beaker Girls starts on Friday 13th January at 6pm on CBBC and can be seen afterwards on BBC iPlayer.Producer: Claire Bartleet
Nikki Bedi and Adil Ray are joined by Julia Donaldson CBE, the children's writer who has written over 200 books, not least The Gruffulo, Stick Man, The Highway Rat and Room on the Broom to name a few. She is also a composer and ex children’s laureate and her repertoire includes books for school use to help children learning to read. From running an Argos store and working as a stand up comedian, to being a parish priest in Burnley, Fr Alex Frost has become a campaigner against poverty and deprivation. He joins us.Cat Turnbull is a search and rescue paramedic based in Portsmouth who was part of the all female final for SAS Who dares wins, the programme that puts contestants through a military training regime. and Vikki Stone is an award-winning writer, composer, comedian and musician who has co-adapted children’s TV favourite Hey Duggee for a major live theatre tour. Actor David Harewood chooses his inheritance tracks: Everything I Own by Ken Boothe and Stevie Wonder Living for the City and we have your Thank you.Producer: Corinna Jones
Matt Goss joins Nikki Bedi and Peter Curran. The singer-songwriter and actor will perform Santa Baby and talk about his life, career and what it means to be living back in the UK after over a decade in America. Matt first shot to international stardom as one half of 1980s band Bros but has carved out a successful solo career, his latest single is The Beautiful Unknown. He's touring next year with The Matt Goss Experience which starts in Croydon on the 27th February and finishes on the 16th April in Dublin.Lucinda Hawksley is an author and art historian with a love of the environment: cetaceans are one of her passions. As a great-great-great granddaughter of Charles and Catherine Dickens, Lucinda has grown up with an interest in her family history. She's a patron of the Charles Dickens Museum in London and the Norwegian Pickwick Club.Emma Smith will be offering top festive tips, using her own experiences which include running a nursey and cooking school. Now a mother of three, after her first child died aged 10 weeks Emma changed her life and now she's trying to make the most of everything and fill life with joy.Tom Felton shares his Inheritance Tracks: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and All Things Must Pass by George Harrison. Tom's memoir Beyond the Wand is out now.Darren Harriott grew up in the West Midlands and found drama and comedy after being beaten up by fellow gang members aged 15, and finding himself in hospital on New Year’s Eve. 2023 looks set to pose new challenges as Darren’s about to take part in ITVs Dancing on Ice and undertake his first UK tour ‘Roadman’, which starts on Wednesday 13th September at Glasgow’s Glee Club and culminates on 25th October at Salford’s Lowry.Producer: Claire Bartleet
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by comedian, writer, presenter and disability rights campaigner Sally Phillips whose career covers some of the most successful British comedies of all time, including I'm Alan Partridge and Miranda, as well as Hollywood movies like Bridget Jones. Her new series My Life At Christmas features interviews with big name stars to find out what Christmas means to them. Nadiyka Gerbish joins live from Ukraine to talk about how her country celebrates Christmas, especially with the constant threat of blackouts. Alex Pine tells us about his career as a bestselling crime writer, heavily influenced by his early life as a street trader which featured many brushes with the law. Scotty Mills is the highest-ranking black officer in the history of the Royal Marines and led Britain's Commandos around the world, before going on to a career which has included being an author, inspiring others with his approach to leadership, and advising the England men's football team, playing a huge part in their recent success.This week's Inheritance Tracks come from Hollywood actor Kate Hudson who stars in the new film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Kate chooses Bruce Springsteen's The Promise and Bob Dylan's Simple Twist of Fate. And we have a special Thank You from screenwriter and children's author Frank Cottrell Boyce. Producer: Tim Bano and Annette Wells
Pattie Boyd joins Nikki Bedi and Danny Wallace. The model, muse and photographer talks about her life, the influence of her early years and how she dealt with many years in the public eye, where relationships with George Harrison and Eric Clapton inspired songs such as Harrison's Something and Clapton’s Layla and Wonderful Tonight.When listener Andrew Lock heard our science lesson call in it prompted him to get in touch and tell us about his surprising career as an inventor on a TV show in the late 1990s, while he was still a student. Andrew joins us to talk about his ingenious inventions and his brief taste of life as a TV presenter.Richie Barlow’s childhood was littered with abuse and chaos, as he struggled to find his place in the world. He spent most of his childhood in care, from the age of nine. Richie talks about turning his life around and running a successful business, the women who helped him, and how Star Trek taught Richie how to survive and forgive.Howard Blake OBE is best known for composing the music for The Snowman, which is celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the film’s debut and 25 years as a stage play. Outside this festive staple, Blake has a hugely varied body of work which includes creating the music for The Avengers and a string of big commercials. He was also commissioned to write a new piece for Princess Diana’s thirtieth birthday.Pattie Boyd: My Life In Pictures is out now.Richie - Who Cares? by Richie Barlow – with Becky Bond is available online now. To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of ‘The Snowman’ Sony are releasing of a newly-remastered edition of the soundtrack. The Snowman stage show is running until 31 December at the Peacock Theatre in London.Producer: Claire Bartleet
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by the BAFTA-winning writer, Jack Thorne. Jack's written a string of hits for stage and screen including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the BBC's adaptation of His Dark Materials, the TV drama This is England and the Enola Holmes films.Cellist Jacqueline Thomas is a member of the renowned Brodsky Quartet, which she co-founded with her brother at the age of 10. As the group celebrates its 50th anniversary, Jacqueline recalls collaborations with famous musicians and growing up amid the rich cultural scene of 1970s Middlesbrough.The artist Jon Rees helps people to explore the therapeutic power of photography for The Connection at St Martin's, the charity supported by this year's Radio 4 appeal. Jon talks about his struggles with addiction and homelessness and how art helped him find a new purpose.The actor and writer Tara Flynn co-hosts Radio 4's Now You're Asking, in which she and Marian Keyes attempt to solve listeners' life problems. She reveals the most unusual questions she's been asked and reflects on her own life experiences, including her role in the campaign to legalise abortion in Ireland.Caroline Hirons shares her Inheritance Tracks: On Her Majesty's Secret Service by John Barry, and Travelin' Soldier by The Chicks.Producer: Dan Hardoon
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by the actress and presenter Emily Atack. She shot to fame in coming of age comedy The Inbetweeners when she was just 17. TV and theatre roles came her way, as well as stints on reality shows such as Dancing on Ice and I’m a Celebrity. She has since done three series of her eponymous one woman show for ITV.
Donna Freed is a writer and translator who is one half of the UK's longest running all-female podcast, Radio Gorgeous. Donna was adopted, and found out that her birth parents were involved in an infamous double indemnity life insurance scam. She joins us.
We also have: Alan Leach, formerly Shed Seven drummer turned solo artist whose latest album is I wish I knew now what I thought I knew then. He also loves pub quizzes, and his hatred of cheating led to him creating an app to help stop it.
and Dr Tim Spector whose Zoe app monitored covid cases over the country. Now he's turned his focus to nutrition, inspired by a dramatic personal experience.
Inheritance Tracks are chosen this week by ACDC's Brian Johnson: Look over yonder wall by Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Broken Down Angel by Nazareth.
And your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Michael Morpurgo joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The author has written over 150 books but is perhaps best known as the creator of War Horse, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The former Children’s Laureate is also the co-founder, with his wife Clare, of the charity Farms for City Children.
Anne-Marie Dias Borges tells the story of how she was born into destitution, but was taken in by the inventor the hair claw clip.
Nikita Gill is the UK’s biggest online poet. Always writing as a child, Nikita was first published aged 12, and has gone on to produce a catalogue of bestselling poetry collections, her latest work including her own illustrations.
Michel Roux Jnr chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Non, je ne regrette rien by Edith Piaf and Hiro by Soprano.
Martin O’Neill's career has spanned more than 50 years. One of nine children, he studied Law at Queens University Belfast, before being signed up by Nottingham Forest. He became a key part of Brian Clough’s legendary team in the ‘70s and early ‘80s. He represented Northern Ireland more than 60 times and led them to the 1982 World Cup. As a manager he took Leicester City to two League Cups, Celtic to seven trophies, and Republic of Ireland to the 2016 European Championship.
The 40th anniversary edition of War horse by Michael Morpurgo is out now, as is Flying Scotsman and the Best Birthday Ever.
These Are the Words by Nikita Gill is out now.
Albert Roux’s memoir My Life in Food is out now.
On Days Like These: My Life in Football by Martin O'Neill is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Martin Kemp on life before, during and after Spandau Ballet and keeping the 80s music scene alive. We also have:
Listener Jenny Sheppard whose family secret has dominated her life.
Printmaker Angela Harding on recreating nature on paper, starting her business late and what's it's like to have her work adorning tea towels and calendars.
Comedian Shazia Mirza on comedy, Birmingham and Bollywood.
Actor Hugh Bonneville chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Look what they've done to my song, Ma performed by Melanie and Starman by David Bowie.
and we have your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Luke Evans joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The Hobbit and Nine Perfect Strangers star left a happy family home in Wales age 16 to pursue his dreams. Luke's big break came after being seen in a London play and he combines acting with a lifelong passion for singing, as he releases his second album.
Lucy Gray began collecting discarded shopping lists by accident, as a way to amuse her friends during lockdown. After amassing over 250 of them, they are being displayed in the Museum of Brands in London. Lucy talks about what shopping lists say about us, and how they offer a window into the human condition.
Susan Rogers started her career as a recording engineer and worked with Prince on albums including Purple Rain and Parade. After more commercial success in the 1990s she finally had the money to move into academia and is now a professor of Psychoacoustics, looking at why we’re drawn to music and what it says about us.
Dan Walker chooses his Inheritance Tracks: the theme-tune to Grandstand and Heartache Tonight by the Eagles.
Writer and poet, David Toms was born with a rare congenital heart defect - a transposition of the great arteries. As a result, he has had to live with the fear and restriction of not knowing when his heart might give out. What has life been like for him, having to learn to live life as a spectator?
A Song For You by Luke Evans is out now. This Is What It Sounds Like: What The Music You Like Says About You by Susan Rogers is out now. Standing on the Shoulders by Dan Walker is out now. Pacemaker by David Toms is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Radio 1 presenter Nick Grimshaw and Bez from Happy Mondays. They also have Dr Katriona O’Sullivan who grew up in poverty to parents who were addicted to heroin. Her journey has taken her from working as a dinner lady in the university canteen to becoming an academic. Rainbow Mbuangi plays blind football for England. Fresh from the blind football Euros, where England came third, he joins us to tell us how the game works.
Michael Ball joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. In a career spanning over 30 years the singer, actor and presenter has appeared in musicals from Les Miserables and Aspects of Love, to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Phantom of the Opera, winning Olivier Awards for his roles in Hairspray and Sweeney Todd. Michael's debut novel is a love letter to the theatre.
As a boy, Hamed Amiri fled Herat with his parents and two brothers after the Taliban put out an execution order for his mother. Their journey from Afghanistan to the UK was made more complicated as his eldest brother had a heart condition. 20 years later, his story of displacement has been made into a play, shedding light on the plight of refugees.
Donna Ashworth started a social media account to share inspirational quotes but after posting her poems anonymously she’s now a bestselling writer.
Gabby Logan shares her Inheritance Tracks: Reach Out I'll Be There by the Four Tops and One Day Like This by Elbow.
Ranvir Singh is an award-winning presenter and former political editor for ITV’s Good Morning Britain. She talks about her path to broadcasting and why riddles are featuring in her future.
The Empire by Michael Ball is out now, Ball & Boe Together In Vegas is out on October 28th and Aspects of Love is booking from Friday 12 May 2023 until Saturday 11 November 2023 at London’s Lyric Theatre.
The Boy with Two Hearts is at the National Theatre and runs until 12 November.
The books Love, Life and Loss by Donna Ashworth are out now.
Gabby Logan’s memoir The First Half is out now.
Riddiculous starts on Monday 24th October at 3pm on ITV.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Adrian Chiles. He has graced our TV screens presenting and reporting on various issues over the last 20 years from business to sport, to chat and back to sport again. But recently he has been talking about alcohol moderation, a subject that has become a personal passion project.
Dr Rahul Mandal is the research scientist who won Bake Off in 2018 despite not having ever made a cake until 2016. He joins us.
Listener Dr Susie West was a junior doctor on the cruise liner the SS Canberra in 1982. Then the Falklands conflict happened and the ship was requisitioned as troop ship. Susie decided to stay on and within five days they were sailing to the South Atlantic, where they became a target for Argentinian planes, saw ships sunk, took on survivors and POWs. She joins us.
British designer Amanda Wakeley OBE joins us to discuss her fashion evolution and her new podcast ‘Amanda Wakeley: Style DNA.
We have your thank you to someone you were unable to thank at the time, and the Inheritance Tracks of Billy Idol. He chooses Billy the Kid by Tex Ritter and Children of the Revolution by Marc Bolan and T-Rex.
Produced by Corinna Jones
Trevor Horn joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The multiple award-winning music producer shares stories from his decades in the music industry. First coming to prominence with The Buggles, Horn ran a label and influenced the iconic sound of artists including ABC, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Grace Jones and Seal.
Raymond Blanc takes Anna Bailey around his orchard in Oxfordshire.
Angela Hui talks about her experiences growing up in a Chinese takeaway in rural Wales, having duel identities and, after growing up hating food, developing a love of cooking as an adult.
Suzi Ruffell shares her Inheritance Tracks: You're the First, the Last, My Everything by Barry White and Born this Way by Lady Gaga.
Adam Parkinson is one half of the Two Mr Ps in a Pod(cast), two brothers from Manchester with over fifteen years of experience working in primary education. Together they share tales from the classroom and reminisce about their own school days. The podcast has amassed over five million listens, they've toured and written two books so far.
Adventures in Modern Recording: From ABC to ZTT by Trevor Horn is published on 13 October. Angela Hui: Takeaway: Stories From Behind the Counter is out now. Suzi Ruffell’s UK Tour ‘Snappy’ runs until the end of October. This Is Your Own Time You’re Wasting by Lee and Adam Parkinson is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Craig David joins Julia Bradbury and Richard Coles. The singer-songwriter found fame age 18 with ‘Rewind’ and over the next 22 years dealt with the highs and lows of fame. Craig talks about his career, overcoming obstacles and rediscovering his good vibes.
Kwesia aka City Girl in Nature grew up in Deptford, an inner city area of London. Growing up Kwesia dealt with violence and trauma but an opportunity to go to the Peruvian Amazon rainforest changed her life and she now works to share her love and passion for the outdoors.
Sandy Nairne was deputy director of London’s Tate Gallery back in 1994 when he was woken in the early hours to be told that two Turner paintings, on loan from the Tate, had been stolen in Frankfurt. They were worth £30 million. He became the person responsible for tracking them down, which would take eight and a half years.
Jamie Oliver shares his Inheritance Tracks: (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding and Only To Be With You by Roachford.
Susannah Constantine made her name as a stylist in What Not To Wear. She talks about her life, from being an 80s IT girl to the impact of her mother’s illness, and her own alcoholism.
Craig David's new album 22 is out now and his book What’s Your Vibe is out on the 6th October. Kwesia features in a new podcast called Waterland's from The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Catching the Art Thieves is on the BBC iPlayer now. One by Jamie Oliver is out now Ready for Absolutely Nothing by Susannah Constantine is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Craig David, City Girl in Nature Kwesia, art tracker Sandy Nairne, Susannah Constantine.
Craig David, City Girl in Nature Kwesia, art tracker Sandy Nairne, Susannah Constantine.
Melanie C joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The musician, actor and now memoirist talks about how the seeds for Sporty Spice were planted in her childhood, reveals what it was like to be part of the Spice Girls, and the personal struggles behind the success.
Pastor Mick Fleming was once a dangerous, violent drug user and dealer but he transformed his life in his 40s and now provides comfort and support for those in need.
Opera singer Rebecca Bottone is the daughter of two acclaimed opera singers. She grew up backstage at some of the most prestigious performance spaces in the world. But as her career was taking off she experienced two traumatic pregnancies and was told at one point that she would never walk again.
Rylan Clark shares his Inheritance Tracks: Forget Me Nots by Patrice Rushen and Pure Shores by All Saints.
Theo Fennell is a world-famous jewellery designer who’s often described as The King of Bling. He talks about the importance of optimism and his love of condiments.
Who I Am: My Story by Melanie C is out now. Blown Away: From Drug Dealer to Life Bringer by Pastor Mick Fleming is out now. Rebecca Bottone's Gilbert and Sullivan tour runs from Saturday 1st October until Sunday 13th November, starting in Stoke-on-Trent and ending in Richmond. Ten – The Decade that Changed My Future by Rylan is out on 29th September I Fear For this Boy: Some Chapters of Accidents by Theo Fennell is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Melanie C joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The musician, actor and now memoirist talks about how the seeds for Sporty Spice were planted in her childhood, reveals what it was like to be part of the Spice Girls, and the personal struggles behind the success.
Pastor Mick Fleming was once a dangerous, violent drug user and dealer but he transformed his life in his 40s and now provides comfort and support for those in need.
Opera singer Rebecca Bottone is the daughter of two acclaimed opera singers. She grew up backstage at some of the most prestigious performance spaces in the world. But as her career was taking off she experienced two traumatic pregnancies and was told at one point that she would never walk again.
Rylan Clark shares his Inheritance Tracks: Forget Me Nots by Patrice Rushen and Pure Shores by All Saints.
Theo Fennell is a world-famous jewellery designer who’s often described as The King of Bling. He talks about the importance of optimism and his love of condiments.
Who I Am: My Story by Melanie C is out now. Blown Away: From Drug Dealer to Life Bringer by Pastor Mick Fleming is out now. Rebecca Bottone's Gilbert and Sullivan tour runs from Saturday 1st October until Sunday 13th November, starting in Stoke-on-Trent and ending in Richmond. Ten – The Decade that Changed My Future by Rylan is out on 29th September I Fear For this Boy: Some Chapters of Accidents by Theo Fennell is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Dan Gillespie Sells joins Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Richard Coles. The lead singer with The Feeling, who also composed the music for Everybody's Talking About Jamie, met his fellow band members at the BRIT School aged 16 and they’ve been collaborating ever since. Their latest album is Loss Hope Love, containing the single On the Edge, and they are touring next month.
Susan Cousins was abandoned as a baby in India. After being adopted she grew up predominantly in the UK but experienced difficulties, which she is now addressing as an adult through her work.
Patrick van der Vorst always wanted to work in the art world. He succeeded, and even gained funding for his company on Dragons' Den. But he’s changed career and is now a trainee priest.
Karen Carney shares her Inheritance Tracks: Say You'll Be There by the Spice Girls and Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond.
Lucy Edwards lost her sight suddenly at the age of 17. She made a video called “Blind Girl Does Her Own Make-Up”, ditched her plans to be a lawyer, did a journalism apprenticeship and took up social media on a mission to represent sight loss. Now she has a popular TikTok account with 1.8 million followers, a haircare sponsorship, and was the first person with sight loss to present on BBC Radio 1.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Dan Gillespie Sells joins Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Richard Coles. The lead singer with The Feeling, who also composed the music for Everybody's Talking About Jamie, met his fellow band members at the BRIT School aged 16 and they’ve been collaborating ever since. Their latest album is Loss Hope Love, containing the single On the Edge, and they are touring next month.
Susan Cousins was abandoned as a baby in India. After being adopted she grew up predominantly in the UK but experienced difficulties, which she is now addressing as an adult through her work.
Patrick van der Vorst always wanted to work in the art world. He succeeded, and even gained funding for his company on Dragons' Den. But he’s changed career and is now a trainee priest.
Karen Carney shares her Inheritance Tracks: Say You'll Be There by the Spice Girls and Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond.
Lucy Edwards lost her sight suddenly at the age of 17. She made a video called “Blind Girl Does Her Own Make-Up”, ditched her plans to be a lawyer, did a journalism apprenticeship and took up social media on a mission to represent sight loss. Now she has a popular TikTok account with 1.8 million followers, a haircare sponsorship, and was the first person with sight loss to present on BBC Radio 1.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Nikki Bedi and Adil Ray are joined by scientist and best selling writer Carlo Rovelli to discuss life outside of black holes and quantum mechanics and why he’s been dubbed the world’s most inspirational physics teacher.
At the age of 24, Georgina Hurst was severely injured in an car accident caused by her then boyfriend’s dangerous driving. She was given a less than one per cent chance of survival. Determined to defy the odds, today she is gearing up to celebrate 25 years since the accident with a pole dancing performance. She tells her story.
Nabil Ayres is the son of a white Jewish former ballerina and the famous black jazz musician Roy Ayers. Prior to his conception, his mother had arranged with his father that he would not have any parental input. Nabil grew up to be a music entrepreneur and a writer, and despite living in the same city has he never bumped into his father. He joins us.
Olia Hercules is a Ukrainian cookery writer based in the UK. This year she has witnessed from afar the plight of her family and friends in Ukraine. She co founded the Cook for Ukraine movement and has become an activist on social media. She joins us.
Writer Roddy Doyle chooses his Inheritance Tracks: River Stay 'Way From My Door - Paul Robeson and Boys From the Betterland - Fontaines D.C. and we have your thank you!
Producer: Corinna Jones
Deborah Moggach joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The novelist and screenwriter talks about relationships, why it’s never too late to have adventures and the forthcoming play based on her novel These Foolish Things. The first adaptation resulted in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel film.
Listener Nick Bunker was listening to Saturday Live a few weeks ago when the writer Lesley Pearse told us how she’d been reunited with the son she’d given up for adoption. He was moved to write to us – as he was adopted as a baby in 1963. Fast forward 54 years later, he received an email and discovered he had a whole family in Australia where they’d emigrated as Ten Pound Poms!
From a working class upbringing in post-war Sheffield to creating some of the most famous songs and bands of all time – The Human League and Heaven 17 – Martyn Ware has been at the forefront of music for decades.
Jules Buckley shares his Inheritance Tracks: Sweet Soul Music by Arthur Conley and Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich.
Samantha Renke is an actress, broadcaster and disability campaigner. She was born with brittle bone condition and uses her own experiences to advise and empower people, to overcome difficulties in their own lives.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opens at Richmond Theatre on Monday 5th September 2022, and is then touring until Sat 3 June, ending in Festival Theatre, Edinburgh. Electronically Yours: Vol 1 by Martyn Ware is out now. You Are the Best Thing Since Sliced Bread by Samantha Renke is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Val McDermid joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The award-winning crime writer was inspired to write after reading Agatha Christie as a child. After attending Oxford University, Val started her career as a journalist and has drawn on these experiences in her latest thriller 1989.
Kristin Mcilquham’s father suffered from a serious brain injury (three aneurysms) when she was child which changed her dad’s personality. Now an actor, she is performing her one-woman show Headcase about the impact this had on her life growing up, on her family and on her dad.
Eileen Fitzgerald befriended The Rolling Stones as a teenager and exchanged letters with the fledgling rockers. Years later she sold the correspondence to help pay for her PhD.
Trumpeter Alison Balsom shares her Inheritance Tracks: JS Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 by Trevor Pinnock with The English Concert and Con Alma by Dizzy Gillespie.
Nihal Arthanayake started out as a recording artist before becoming an award-winning broadcaster. He talks about life growing up and why in his new book Let's Talk he's encouraging everyone to have better conversations.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Dave Gorman joins Nikki Bedi and Adil Ray ahead of his latest tour. The comedian gave up a bright future in maths to become a stand-up. He first found fame asking Are You Dave Gorman and, aided by a powerpoint, has been on a mission to prove Modern Life Is Goodish. He’s also recently become a crossword setter.
Sanjar Qiam is a master kite-maker from Kabul. To mark the anniversary of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, Sanjar is launching a kite-flying festival across the UK to celebrate Afghan culture and bring people together.
Helen Linsell hated ballet lessons as a child but has spent her entire career encouraging others to dance. As the artistic director of Dance United Yorkshire, Helen works on dance projects with disadvantaged community groups, watching people grow in confidence through the power of movement. This dance-powered boost is something that Helen knows first-hand, from her own journey from shy and struggling adolescent to confident and courageous adult.
Kate Nash shares her Inheritance Tracks: Delirium Tremens by Christy Moore and Stay Wild by Shuga.
Writer Susie Boyt has published seven novels to date and her memoir My Judy Garland Life was also adapted for the stage. Susie talks about why fiction was important to her from a young age, and how her mother inspired her latest work Loved and Missed.
The Fly With Me festival is happening at various locations on Saturday 20 August 2022. For more information go to goodchance.org.uk/flywithme
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Actor James Purefoy joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles to talk about Fisherman's Friends One and All. From Mark Antony in Rome to The Black Prince in A Knight's Tale, James talks about his long and wide-ranging career.
The Singh Twins are visual artists whose colourful and acclaimed work draws on traditional Indian techniques, Western medieval illuminated manuscripts and contemporary Western culture. They talk about their close bond and identifying as 'twindividuals'.
Adeline Vining found a vintage Dior dress belonging to her grandmother in a suitcase in the attic. When she posted a TikTok of herself wearing the dress, she went viral. Fashion historians got involved, suggesting the dress was made by Christian Dior himself, and estimating its worth at £35,000. The discovery also helped Adeline uncover the story of her grandmother's life.
Lesley Pearse has been a bestselling novelist for many years, and has lived an extraordinary life. After spending time in an orphanage, she found herself working as a bunny girl in Soho in her teens. When she became pregnant she was forced to give her son up for adoption. Years later she has reconnected with her son, and discovered the huge family she never knew she had.
Also we have the Inheritance Tracks of producer and DJ Paul Oakenfold, who chooses Elvis Presley's Rubberneckin' and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On.
Fisherman's Friends: One and All is in cinemas from 19th August. The Singh Twins' exhibition ‘Slaves of Fashion’ is on at FirstSite in Colchester until 11th September. Lesley Pearse's latest novel Deception is available now.
Producer: Tim Bano
Doon Mackichan joins Nikki Bedi and Rev Richard Coles. The actor, writer and comedian – and double Emmy winner - be talking about her latest comedy role set in a suburban street in Glasgow, how she did impressions to avoid the school bullies and her love of wild swimming.
Loree Draude is one of the first women to fly combat jets in the U.S. Navy. She switched to start-ups in Silicon Valley, rediscovered her love of theatre and now has a one-woman show.
Matt Rowland Hill grew up the son of a minister in an evangelical Christian church in South Wales, then lost his faith in his late teens and began his search for salvation elsewhere, turning to books and then to alcohol and drugs.
Carol Kirkwood shares her Inheritance Tracks – Surfin’ USA by The Beach Boys and Love Will Keep Us Alive by The Eagles.
Mike Gayle was the first man to win Romantic Fiction’s top award and was an Agony Uncle for girls’ teen magazine Bliss before becoming a novelist.
Two Doors Down is BBC Two on Tuesday nights at 10pm, and all five series are available to watch on the BBC iplayer. Loree Draude’s show, I Feel the Need runs from 4th to 27th August at the Assembly Rooms - Powder Room in Edinburgh. Matt Rowland Hill’s memoir, Original Sins is published by Chatto & Windus. Mike Gayle’s book, The Museum of Ordinary People is published by Hodder & Stoughton.
Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Richard Hooper
Robert Peston joins Nikki Bedi and Peter Curran. Whilst keeping very busy as ITV News' Political Editor, Robert Peston has written his debut novel. He talks about the memories it triggered, career highlights and passions outside work.
Listener Gerry Wright got in touch to talk about the significance of sailing for her family, and a particularly poignant bedside trip with her mother.
Ben Aldridge used to suffer from severe anxiety until he used the ancient Greek philosophy of stoicism to get outside his comfort zone – challenges he set himself included running a marathon in his garden and climbing Everest on his stairs during lockdown.
Noma Dumezweni shares her Inheritance Tracks: Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba and O-o-h Child by Five Stairsteps.
Michael Spicer is best known as the cynical and world-weary political advisor character in ‘The Room Next Door’ sketches. Michael spent decades writing in his spare time whilst doing unfulfilling jobs to pay the bills, leading to a double life when he got internet fame.
The Whistleblower by Robert Peston is out now. How To Control The Uncontrollable by Ben Aldridge is out now. Noma Dumezweni is in A Doll’s House, Part 2 which runs at London’s Donmar Warehouse until the 6 August. Michael Spicer's Edinburgh show The Room Next Door runs from the 19th to the 28th of August at Assembly George Square Studios - Studio One.
Producer: Claire Bartleet
Nikki Bedi and Adil Ray are joined by Delia Smith CH CBE, first known for teaching cookery skills on TV and in her books in a no-nonsense style. 50 years worth of recipes later, she is now sharing her thoughts on spirituality.
Liv Thorne wanted a baby, but she was single. Instead of hanging around waiting for Mr Right, she took things into her own hands and bought some sperm, having her son in 2018. Keen to reduce stigma surrounding such choices, she documented her experience and found that revisiting her past, in particular the loss of both her parents when she was a teen, helped her understand why she had struggled maintaining a relationship. She joins us.
A passion for Grime has fuelled Roony “risky” Keefe’s career, first making documentaries about the subject and then music videos for Skepta amongst others, picking up praise from Drake on the way. He also works as a London cabbie, doing the infamous “knowledge” in less than the requisite 4 years. He joins us.
We also have Ed Patrick - NHS doctor by day, comedian by night and author wherever he can find the time. He uses comedy to help find balance in his life as an anaesthetist.
We have the Inheritance Tracks of actor James Buckley who chooses God Only Knows by the Beach Boys and Time For Heroes by The Libertines and your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Eddie Hearn joins Nikki Bedi and Rev. Richard Coles. One of the biggest boxing promoters in the world, Eddie represents some of the biggest names in the sport, including Anthony Joshua and Katie Taylor. He talks about what drives him to succeed and the biggest challenges he’s faced.
This weekend is the Llangollen Eisteddfod, an international music and dance festival in North Wales, which has been running since 1949. In 1956, when she was 15, Myron Lloyd entered the Welsh singing competition in a traditional costume and had her photograph taken. She thought nothing of it, until a few years later, when she discovered she’d become famous all over Wales, and beyond.
Hip Hop educator Breis grew up in London and Lagos. Music helped him readjust after moving countries. Rather than entering the corporate world after gaining a maths degree, Breis has continued to pursue his passions, creating music and publishing books, including Diary of a Creative Mind.
Louis Theroux chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Janie Jones by The Clash and Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy) by Al Green.
Harpreet Chandi MBE, also known as ‘Polar Preet,’ talks about creating history by becoming the first woman of colour to complete an unsupported solo expedition to the South Pole.
Derek Chisora and Kubrat Pulev are meeting for a second time for a boxing rematch at The O2 on Saturday 9 July 2022. Theroux the Keyhole by Louis Theroux is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles meet Baroness Floella Benjamin - who became a household name in the mid 70s and 80s as the host of Playschool. She came to the UK as part of the Windrush generation from Trinidad and as well as TV presenting, she is a successful actor, writer and producer, a working peer and advocate for the welfare and education of Children, she is also a Dame and an OBE.
We also have Aled Haydn Jones - the current head of radio 1 - who has spoken out about his rollercoaster journey to be a Dad, via a surrogate.
Vashti Bunyan was an aspiring pop musician in the late 60s when she walked away from potential fame, and took a horse and cart to Scotland. Years later she searched online to realise she had a cult following. She joins us.
Daniel Biddle was the most seriously injured survivor of the 7/7 terror attacks in London in 2015. He tells us of his journey since, physically back to the site of the attack, but also in developing opportunities for disabled people in the workplace.
For her Inheritance Tracks, crime writer Karin Slaughter chooses You May be Right by Billy Joel and We Got the Beat by the Go-Gos, and we have your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Barbara Charone joins Nikki Bedi and Rev. Richard Coles. Barbara has been called the UK’s most powerful music PR and has launched the careers of artists including Madonna. She talks about growing up in Chicago, her role in the music industry and also finding time for football.
Listener and writer Isabel Wolff got in touch to talk about the day her family saved Harold Wilson from drowning.
Labi Siffre shares his Inheritance Tracks: Sail Away by Randy Newman and Il Canto sung by Luciano Pavarotti.
Pope Lonergan is a stand-up comedian who spent ten years looking after the elderly. He talks about his experiences as a care worker and why he decided to bring his tour to care homes.
Access All Areas by Barbara Charone is out now. Photo credit: Richard Young. I’ll Die After Bingo by Pope Lonergan is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Gyles Brandreth joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The writer, broadcaster and former MP talks about his life, varied career and why he’s still trying to please his parents.
Felicity Cloake shares her experiences of cycling around the UK sampling breakfasts.
Actor James Nesbitt chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Stardust by Nat King Cole and Star of the County Down by Van Morrison and The Chieftains.
Ronnie Archer-Morgan discovered a love of objects when he was a boy; his passions helped him when growing up and led to him becoming an expert on Antiques Roadshow.
Odd Boy Out by Gyles Brandreth is out now.
Red Sauce Brown Sauce by Felicity Cloake is out now.
Would It Surprise You To Know...? by Ronnie Archer-Morgan with Janet Gleeson is out the 23rd June.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by actor Minnie Driver who talks about her life, career and the lesson’s she’s learnt from her life so far.
We also have Pearl Lowe, the former singer, ex-party girl and recovered addict on her regrets and living in the moment.
Actor, director and writer Denis Lawson is perhaps best known for his appearances in classic films such the original “Star Wars” trilogy, but he has years of experience in the West End as a musical theatre actor, winning an Olivier Award for his performance in “Mr Cinders”. He joins us.
Listener Michael Pincher contacted Saturday Live about his brush with a whale bigger than his boat in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, and the eventual return of the log book from the life changing sailing trip he took 47 years before.
Technology pioneer, businesswoman and philanthropist Dame Stephanie Shirley chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Carl Davis, Last Train to Tomorrow and Bach Brandenburg concerto, Number 5. And your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Nikki Bedi and Adil Ray are joined by actor and comedian Ardal O'Hanlon. After finding fame playing dimwitted Father Dougal in Father Ted, Ardal went on to star in many more successful series including My Hero and Death in Paradise. Meanwhile he found time to write a critically acclaimed novel while continuing to tour his stand up comedy. Now he has written a new novel, Brouhaha, set in a small border town in Ireland.
With the Jubilee weekend celebrations well and underway, Shabnam Russo talks to Nikki and Adil about her creation for the pudding competition, a rose falooda cake, which made it through to the finals.
Penny Harrison's husband was struggling to find a flight back home for the birth of his son Paul, until none other than the Queen offered him a lift on her private flight. He made it back in time, and many years later Paul had a chance to thank the Queen in person. Penny and Paul join us in the studio.
And Mark Constantine tells us about his extraordinary journey from homelessness aged 16 to founding cosmetics company Lush.
Actor Dame Sheila Hancock chooses her Inheritance Tracks - Dame Vera Lynn's White Cliffs of Dover and Nina Simone's Feeling Good - plus we have a thank you from one of our listeners.
(Photo credit: Mark Nixon)
Producer: Tim Bano
Nikki Bedi and Mobeen Azhar are joined by DJ Fat Tony, who first found fame in the 80s and has played for everyone from Prince and Madonna to Royalty. After 28 years of hedonism, Tony found himself homeless and dying from addiction but he’s now over 15 years sober, in demand as a DJ and working to help others.
We also have Angela Hartnett MBE, the Michelin starred chef who's written cookbooks, judged on BBC’s Best Home Cook and a has passion for good, honest food with the best ingredients possible.
Football manager and former player Carlo Ancelotti has navigated Real Madrid to the face Liverpool in the Champions League final tonight. So what’s his secret?
Spring is in the air and so is birdsong. But how many of us know what we are listening to? We are joined by self taught birdsong expert Lucy “lapwing” Hodson who set up youtube tutorials in lockdown, she also makes props for Springwatch and knows something about Larks. She joins us.
Opera singer Brindley Sherratt chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Beethoven: Fidelio, Mir ist so wunderbar and The Carpenters: We’ve Only Just Begun (photo credit Gerard Collett). And your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Tom Felton joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. After acting in a local theatre group aged 6, Tom gained worldwide fame as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series and has recently made his West End stage debut.
After surviving cancer and a stroke, listener Briony Maclean got in touch to talk about how she became a model, gaining a new lease of life and a confidence boost.
Wynne Evans’ childhood was the focus of the film Save the Cinema, starring Tom Felton. He’s a professional opera singer with over 25 years’ experience but it was an advert that turned out to be life-changing.
Shobna Gulati chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko by Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi and To Zion by Lauryn Hill.
Broadcaster, screenwriter and author Tom Bradby talks about his life and career, the inspiration behind his fiction and his obsession with history.
Tom Felton is currently in 2:22: A Ghost Story which runs at the criterion theatre until 4th September. He's also playing Guy Fawkes in The Gunpowder Plot which opens on the 20th May in Tower Vaults at the Tower of London. And the film Burrial will be released later this year.
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice starring Shobna Gulati is touring the UK until the 16th July.
Yesterday’s Spy by Tom Bradby is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by comedian Geoff Norcott who has appeared on Live at the Apollo, Mash Report, Mock the Week and Question Time, had sell-out Edinburgh runs and two national tours. He is also a rare breed in comedy – a “right wing comedian”.
We also have singer and actor Marisha Wallace who is a Broadway and West End sensation. Born and raised in a small town in North Carolina, Marisha has done it all, from tap dancing at the Tonys to nannying for Philip Seymour Hoffman to performing at the Queen at the Royal Variety Show.
Hilary Wynter was a child when, in 1972, she was involved in a terrible accident at the Big dipper in Battersea park where five children died, she tells us of her memories.
Shay Doyle worked as an undercover police officer, tackling some of the criminals he grew up with in Manchester, he joins us.
Columnist and broadcaster Grace Dent chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood's Jackson, and Human League, Being Boiled.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Kate Nash joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi. The singer and actress talks about why going back on tour is so important, the steps taken to achieve longevity in the music industry, the 15th anniversary of her debut album Made of Bricks and life in LA.
Anna Kilpatrick's life changed dramatically after her husband had a stroke age 38. She's now an advocate for making the best of what you have, and living well with less.
Matt Whyman has trouble saying no. When asked to be an agony uncle, he said yes, despite having no experience whatsoever. Matt’s stint as Bliss Magazine’s Love Doctor lasted 18 years. His inability to say no also led to his garden being destroyed by pet pigs and his time consumed with the desire to run ultramarathons.
Dan Gillespie Sells shares his Inheritance Tracks: City of Dreams by Talking Heads and Together Again by Janet Jackson.
Emma Kennedy is a best-selling author and TV writer, actor and presenter. Following the death of her mother, Emma found letters that her mother Brenda had written to her. They helped Emma understand her mother better – someone she had always had a complicated relationship with.
Kate Nash's UK tour starts on May 23rd in Brighton and then continues at various venues until the 1st June, in Birmingham. More details at katenash.com Failure is an Option by Matt Whyman is out now. The Feelings’ new album, Love. Hope. Loss is released on 6th May. They are touring the UK in October this year. Letters From Brenda by Emma Kennedy is published on the 12th May.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Sara Davies MBE joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi. The Dragons' Den investor started her multi-million pound business as a student and topped the leaderboard during her time on Strictly Come Dancing. Sara talks about her path to success and passion for crafting.
Five years ago Jonny Cotsen decided to explore his deaf identity, after a life of adapting to be part of the hearing world. A qualified graphic designer and teacher, Jonny also changed careers to pursue his childhood ambition of performing.
Catherine Carr and her siblings were separated as children. Now, with relationships repaired and large bodies of water having passed under the bridge, Catherine is still fascinated by sibling relationships of all shapes and sizes.
Gary Wilmot shares his Inheritance Tracks: Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin and Summer Breeze performed by The Isley Brothers.
Tayshan Hayden-Smith was nicknamed 'the English Neymar' as a talented teenage footballer. But becoming a dad at 17, losing his mum in his early 20s and the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire have all played a part in him taking a completely different path. Now, at the age of 24, he is a garden designer and soon to exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show.
We Can All Make It by Sara Davies is out now. Jonny Cotsen's film Born Deaf Raised Hearing is on BBC One on May 6th at 7.30pm (8pm in Wales), and then available via the BBC iPlayer. Catherine Carr's Relatively Podcast is available now. Gary Wilmot is in Wicked which is booking until 27 November 2022 at the Victoria Apollo Theatre in London. Tayshan Hayden-Smith is making his debut at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022, with Grow2Know.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Will Young joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The singer, writer and podcaster shot to fame 20 years ago after winning the first series of Pop Idol. Seven albums, four Number One’s, 10 million record sales and two Brit Awards later, he is now a leading voice in mental health awareness, particularly in the LGBTQ community. Steve Thompson MBE is a 2003 World Cup winner and has been England’s most capped hooker in the sport of rugby union. He was recently diagnosed with early-onset dementia. Harriet Atkinson received an email out of the blue from a stranger, Bridget Mckenzie, to say that she owned a photograph album that she thought belonged to Harriet’s family. Jess Gillam shares her Inheritance Tracks: Whole of the Moon by The Waterboys and Stars by Nina Simone Live at Montreux 1976. Paul Hunter is a life-long Aston Villa fan. Back in 1982, Aston Villa beat Bayern Munich to win the European Cup. Around the same time, 16 year old Paul was told he wouldn’t amount to anything by one of his teachers. It’s the tale of two underdogs triumphing.
Will’s book Be Yourself and Happier – The A-Z of Wellbeing – is published by Ebury Spotlight. His album of Greatest Hits is out in May and a UK tour in the autumn. Steve’s book, Unforgettable: Rugby, dementia and the fight of my life is published by Blink Publishing. Would You Bet Against Us? – written and performed by Paul and Told By An Idiot theatre company is at The Birmingham Rep from 19th May until 4th June 2022.
Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Alice Feinstein
Paul Sinha joins Nikki Bedi and Huw Stephens. The former doctor turned stand-up comedian is also a star quizzer on The Chase. He talks about his life, career and recent Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Listener Cheryl Underhill got in touch to tell us about discovering a box of her parents’ wartime love letters soon after her mother died in 2013, and why it took her seven years to look at them.
Hannah Bourne-Taylor let a bronze-winged mannikin finch nest in her hair for 84 days. The process of caring for the rescued baby bird also helped Hannah's mental health.
Milton Jones shares his Inheritance Tracks: London Calling by The Clash and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2.
Carrie Hope Fletcher is a Grammy nominated singer, actress, author and vlogger. After discovering a love of theatre age 3, she made her professional debut age 5 and is currently starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella.
Paul Sinha’s Perfect Pub Quiz starts at 18:30 on Thursday 21 April on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
The Box of Beautiful Letters by Cheryl Underhill is out now.
Fledgling by Hannah Bourne-Taylor is out now.
Milton Jones' Milton Impossible tour travels around the UK from 17th May. Photo Credit: Aemen Sukkar@Jiksaw
With This Kiss by Carrie Hope Fletcher is out now. Carrie is also currently starring in Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London.
Producer: Tim Bano Editor: Richard Hooper
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Al Murray, best known as The Pub Landlord, he’s also a history buff with a super successful World War II podcast, and he plays the drums.
Alexandra Heminsley found life shifted following a difficult pregnancy, sexual assault and her partner telling her she was going to transition. She joins us.
We also have Saturday Live listener, Doris Remnant, who was seven years old when her family were forced to flee Cairo in 1957 during the Suez conflict. They arrived in France as refugees, with little belongings, to start a new life.
Justin Webb is the longest serving presenter of the Today programme. In his almost 4 decades of journalism he has worked as Europe correspondent, war correspondent and chief correspondent in Washington DC. He reveals his complicated and unconventional childhood.
Patrick Gale chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Kathleen Ferrier singing The Keel Row & Mendelssohn piano trio in C minor. and your thank you!
Producer Corinna Jones
Patrick Kielty joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The award winning stand-up and broadcaster talks about growing up in Northern Ireland, his path to comedy and making his screen acting debut.
Bestselling novelist Amy Bloom turns to memoir as she recounts the journey she and her husband took to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland after his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
Pioneering priest Reverend Doctor Ellen Clark-King will talk about learning to sing, after decades of being ashamed of her voice.
Craig Revel Horwood shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Les Child teaches elegance and poise to models and shared his choreography skills with musicians including the Pet Shop Boys and the Rolling Stones. But before this he was busy creating Britain's first vogue house and working as a principal dancer with the pioneering Michael Clark Company.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Patrick Kielty's stand-up tour Borderline runs from April 21st starting in Ballymena, reaching Nottingham on the 11th May and then continues until 2nd July. In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom is out now. Anyone Can Sing, featuring Reverend Doctor Ellen Clark-King, airs on Wednesdays at 8pm on Sky Arts. Craig Revel Horwood: The All Balls and Glitter Tour continues in Cardiff on the 3rd April and runs in venues around the UK until 27th May.
Suzy Klein and Huw Stephens are joined by actor, comedian and entertainer Les Dennis as he hosts a tribute to his friend Barry Cryer. Kat Farmer left a lucrative city job after she had kids and was unsure what to do next. She rediscovered a love of fashion and it’s ability to reinvent, and embraced the digital age, starting a blog, "Does my bum look 40 in this?" and becoming an online influencer. She now works as a stylist, for personal clients and on TV. She joins us. Saturday Live listener Martyn Bradley was aged 12 when, at a family party, his great grandfather gave all his great grandchildren a pocket watch, except him, on the grounds that he was adopted. It was the first he had heard about it. He tells us what happened next. We have Comedian Zoe Lyons on going from Survivor into stand up, and alopecia, and the inheritance tracks of Donna Leon, she chooses Carolyn Watkinson singing “Oh thou that telleth good tidings to Zionz' from Handel’s Messiah and Joyce DiDonato singing “As with Rosy steps the morn” from Handel’s Theodora. Plus, your thank you!
Producer: Corinna Jones
Siobhán McSweeney joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The actor talks Derry Girls, the significance of going back to West Cork for her latest role and manifesting her Great British Pottery Throwdown gig.
Gary Stevenson became a very successful City trader but he explains why he left to become an inequality economist.
Listener Stefan Jennings got in touch and shares how finding his chef father’s journal revealed a dad he never knew.
Andrew Garfield chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Just a Gigolo by Louis Prima and Vincent by Don McLean.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Alice Feinstein
Holding continues on Monday at 9pm on ITV and all four episodes are available on ITV Hub. Andrew Garfield stars in tick, tick…BOOM! which is available to stream now on Netflix.
Richard Coles and Andrea Catherwood are joined by comedian Paul Merton: stalwart on Have I got News for You and Just a Minute, he's an impro pro. We hear one woman’s story of how building a toilet - using a chainsaw - helped her find herself. Siri Heller joins us. Guest Patrick Foster estimates that he placed a total of £4million on bets over the course of 12 years. The former professional cricketer turned teacher hid his gambling addiction until everything unravelled in 2018. Adventurer Elise Wortley decided to recreate the journeys of forgotten female explorers, using only the means they used at the time. And photographer Rankin chooses his inheritance tracks: English Rose by The Jam and Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones and your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Marcus Wareing joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The award-winning chef, food writer, restauranteur and judge on MasterChef: The Professionals is now learning new skills as he produces food on his small holding in East Sussex.
Ellie Pacey is a former British Tractor Pulling champion who has recently taken part in BBC 3’s The Fast and the Farmer-ish. She’s also a Formula 1 apprentice test technician and has been a Miss England finalist.
Tulsi Vagjiani survived a plane crash which killed her parents and younger brother in 1990. She underwent more than 50 operations to repair facial burns. Going through this extraordinary ordeal would eventually set her on a path to becoming a campaigner for those with visible differences. She’s now a motivational speaker, never happier than when she is giving talks in schools.
Trisha Goddard shares her Inheritance Tracks: I Want You Back by The Jackson 5 and Say Ladeo by Bobby McFerrin.
Andy McCluskey founded Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark with a school friend. The band have sold over 25 million singles and 15 million albums. But Andy’s first love was art. He explains why he’s a devoted collector of Maurice Wade, and why sharing his work is important.
Marcus Wareing’s Tales from a Kitchen Garden continues Monday to Friday on BBC 2 at 6.30pm. And you can watch any episodes you’ve missed via the iPlayer. Trisha Goddard presents You Are What You Eat, the full series is available on My5 and there’s also a companion book. Maurice Wade, Silent Landscapes - The Andy McCluskey Collection opens Friday 25th March at Trent Art Gallery, Newcastle under Lyme.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Anoushka Shankar who started playing the Sitar when she was 9, secured a recording contract aged sixteen and has been nominated for 7 Grammy awards. She is the musical successor to her father the world renowned musician Ravi Shankar, and is celebrating his life and achievements. Harry Parker's life changed overnight when he lost his legs to an IED in Afghanistan. He talks rebuilding his life, identity and the impact of technology. Maddy Lucy Dann is a junior doctor who turned to social media platform, TikTok to cheer herself up during the pandemic. Her self-deprecating manner, quick wit and resemblance to the comic character Miranda earned her legions of followers and has led to a fledgling parallel career as a stand-up. Giles Kristian is now a writer but during the 90s he auditioned and won the role of lead singer of pop group Upside Down, achieving four top twenty hit records, performing on Top of the Pops as well as at the Royal Albert Hall, N.E.C. and Wembley Arena, and playing concerts on the same bill as such artists as The Spice Girls, Take That, The Backstreet Boys and Eric Clapton. We also have the inheritance tracks from actor Paterson Joseph who chooses In Loving You Junior English and Better Get it in Your Soul by Charles Mingus and your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Rose Matafeo, comedian and star of BBC Three’s romantic comedy, Starstruck, who grew up in New Zealand and did her first stand up gig as a teenager. Magnus Hanson-Heine will be telling us what it was like growing up in a house with a model shark on its roof in Oxford. Nathaniel Hall kept a secret from his family for fifteen years – that he was HIV positive, after his first sexual experience. And boxer Nicola Barke, aka The Burmese Python, on overcoming a sleeping disorder to become a world Taekwondo champion and kickboxer. Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the DJ Annie Nightingale CBE, who chooses Many A New Day from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma and Three Little Birds by Bob Marley and The Wailers. And your thank you.
Producer: Annette Wells
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles start your weekend with:
DJ and producer Naughty Boy whose Deal or No Deal win funded his music career, and now he numbers Beyonce, Ed Sheeran and Emeli Sande among his collaborators.
Photographer and meat-free living advocate Mary McCartney who found fame as a baby when she appeared on the cover of her dad Paul McCartney's first solo album, and since then has become an acclaimed photographer as well as the co-founder of Meat Free Mondays.
Elise Christie, world champion speed skater and Olympic athlete. In a new memoir she recounts her successes, and the incredibly tough moments in her life that led her to retire aged 31.
Anthea Allen, the critical care nurse who asked for biscuits and started a movement. At the height of lockdown in May 2020 while working at St George's Hospital she emailed her neighbours asking for sweet treats to keep her colleagues going. She was inundated with replies and soon her weekly newsletter, full of stories from the frontline, became essential reading and an organisation was set up to support NHS staff.
Newsreader and Mastermind host picks his Inheritance Tracks.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in the programme you can find information and support on BBC Action Line www.bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Producer: Tim Bano
Nikki Bedi and Shaun Keaveny are joined by Keith Brymer Jones, master potter, judge on the Throw Down, who used to be in a band called the Wigs, gets emotional about ceramics and has helped to revive the profile of clay. Cleo Sylvestre was the first black actor in a leading role at the National Theatre but not before she had had the Rolling Stones backing her on a track. She joins us. Kevin Quinn was a marathon runner before he realised that he had four holes in his heart. He had an operation and was running 12 weeks later and has since came first in a virtual marathon during Lockdown. Laura Galloway moved from New York to spend six years in a small town of 100 people in the Arctic Tundra after finding out in a DNA test that she had Sami ancestry. and Music journalist Clemency Burton-Hill chooses Ella Fitzgerald performing Willow Weep for Me and Max Richter reworking of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Spring 3 And your Thank you.
Producer Corinna Jones
Claire Sweeney joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The actress, singer, dancer and TV presenter Claire Sweeney made her professional singing debut age 14 and her varied career includes playing Lindsey Corkhill in Brookside and performing alongside Patrick Swayze in the West End.
Rory O’Grady turned detective to document the final journey of his older brother and the passengers who died alongside him in a mid-air collision over Italy in 1958. Rory talks about the significance of finding family members.
Rajinder Singh came to prominence as the Skipping Sikh during lockdown. He was awarded an MBE last year and has inspired his daughter Minreet Kaur to live a healthier life.
Neil Morrissey shares his Inheritance Tracks: Ray Stevens, The Streak and Fantasy by Earth, Wind & Fire.
Laura Willoughby MBE decided to give up drinking almost 10 years ago. She explains how it transformed her life and career.
Claire Sweeney is playing Violet Newstead in the UK tour of Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 The Musical until 5th March 2022. The Flight of the Arctic Fox by Rory O’Grady is out now. The fourth series of The Good Karma Hospital starring Neil Morrissey continues on Sunday at 8pm on ITV. Club Soda's alcohol free off-licence in central London is open until 27th February.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Vicky McClure, star of Line of Duty and This Is England. Her latest role is in a new drama on bomb disposal, keeping us on the edge of our sofas.
We also have Helen Naylor who grew up believing that her mother had a chronic health condition that made her so exhausted she had to spend most of her time in bed. After her mother's death she found her diaries which told a different story.
Listener Liz Ashworth emailed us about her mission to keeping traditional Scottish food alive: she wrote cook books for bairns and joins us ahead of Burns night on Tuesday!
We also have Osman Yousefzada, the son of Pakistani-Afghan migrants who settled in Birmingham. As a child, he was able to inhabit his mother’s world where women gathered behind a curtain to sew and talk, separated from the men. Osman has became an artist himself, designing clothes for Beyonce and Lady Gaga.
Sir Kenneth Branagh gives us his inheritance tracks - he chooses Cyprus Avenue by Van Morrison and Rio by Michael Nesmith. and we have your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Author and podcaster Giovanna Fletcher trained as an actor, but with several bestselling novels under her belt and her hit podcast Happy Mum Happy Baby featuring guests stars such as the Duchess of Cambridge, she has had little time to take to the stage in recent years. Now she stars in the West End in Danny Robins's terrifying new play 2.22 A Ghost Story at London's Gielgud Theatre.
During lockdown, Femi Fadugba's debut novel, which combines his expertise in quantum physics with a thrilling time travel story set in Peckham, became a bestseller and was quickly snapped up by Netflix for a film adaptation.
Ben Norris combines his skills as a poet, actor and playwright in The Choir of Man, a new feelgood show in the West End, which uses hits by the likes of Sia and and Guns'n'Roses to celebrate the power of community.
After an incredible story from listener Helen Kirkham on last week's show about the devastating accident that almost took her life, we reunite Helen with someone very special.
Darling Buds of May, Matilda and Call the Midwife actor Pam Ferris chooses her Inheritance Tracks: You Are My Heart's Delight by Richard Tauber and Bonde by Ali Farka Toure with Ry Cooder.
And we have a Thank You from Topsy Kennedy.
Producer: Tim Bano
Nikki Bedi and Rev Richard Coles are joined by actor Ralf Little who first appeared on our screens as the awkward Antony in the Royle Family, went on to star in Two Pints and a packet of crisps, and now Death in Paradise. Legendary football manager Brian Clough took our guest Craig Bromfield under his wing as a troubled youngster but their relationship ended when Craig betrayed Brian and never saw him again. Craig has written about his experience to make sense of what he did and why he did it. Helen Kirkham is a Saturday Live listener who had a road accident as a teen and later trained to be a nurse. She attended a lecture by the doctor who saved her life. Sports reporter Emma John who is a cricket fan, a bluegrass fiddler and singledom advocate. Andy Summers, guitarist with The Police, chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Manha de Carnaval from the film Black Orpheus by Luiz Bonfa and West Coast Blues by Wes Montgomery and your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Sarah Parish joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. Best known for her work in Mistresses, W1A , Broadchurch and Bancroft, Sarah talks about her career, including her latest project which is a crime thriller, and the charity she co-founded with her husband in memory of their first daughter.
Supriya Nagarajan explains why she gave up a successful banking career to become a musician.
Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton talks about being homeless as a teenager and how it inspired her career, she's the chief fire officer at West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.
Matt Goss shares his Inheritance Tracks: Your Song by Elton John and Piano Man by Billy Joel.
Aldo Kane has been inside an active volcano more than once and met his wife in one too. The former Royal Marines sniper talks about his life and experiences.
Sarah Parish can be seen in Stay Close, which is available on Netflix from the 31st December. Supriya Nagarajan: Mapping the Music is at The Hepworth Wakefield on 19th February. The Heat of The Moment by Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton is out now. The Beautiful Unknown by Matt Goss is out in spring 2022. Lessons From the Edge by Aldo Kane is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
In this festive edition of Saturday Live, Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi are joined by the actor Mark Strong, who has made a name playing villains in some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, including Sherlock Holmes, Shazam and Cruella. He drops by to talk about darkly comic medical drama Temple. Comedian Fatiha El-Ghorri discusses her journey from homelessness to being one of the most exciting stand up comedians in the country. We hear about your new Christmas traditions, from socially distanced carol concerts to Christmas day curries. Plus we hear the Inheritance Tracks of 'what I call' national treasure Patricia Hodge.
Producer: Tim Bano
Comedian, writer and entertainer Julian Clary joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles to talk about the lure of the pantomime and how his love of dogs has changed his life.
Maria Sodahl, who received a likely-terminal cancer diagnosis just before Christmas nine years ago, on how she has turned her experience into the film Hope.
Nathan Evans, the former postman who went viral on Tik Tok with his rendition of the sea shanty, Wellerman.
And food historian Annie Gray will be taking us on a trip through time, from the familiarity of plum pudding and mince pies to the extravagance of boar's head and brawn.
Plus, singer/songwriter Josh Groban chooses his Inheritance tracks: ‘S Wonderful by Tony Bennett (with Diana Krall) and Move on from Sunday in the Park with George sung by Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin.
And your Thank you, this week from Isobel Sheppard.
Producer: Annette Wells
Nikki Bedi and Mobeen Azhar are joined by Brian May, musician and astrophysicist, who played guitar on Buckingham Palace, and with the rock band Queen and is fascinated by stereoscopy AKA 3D. Also we have: journalist and broadcaster Camilla Tominey on her experiences growing up with her mother who had alcoholism. Johanna Basford joins us, she worked for years as a commercial illustrator – her work can be found on wallpaper, beer cans and even as tattoos – she had the idea of creating adult colouring books. Her books have since sold 21 million copies and been translated into 28 languages. and Bear Grylls whose latest project is to encourage adventure. Plus, comedian Mel Giedroyc chooses her Inheritance tracks: Hit me with your rhythm stick by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and Sit in your lap by Kate Bush. And your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Joanna Lumley talks to Nikki Bedi and Shaun Keaveny about her career highlights and why her latest work is celebrating the Queen. Comedian Slim spent 15 years as a bus driver before being encouraged by a friend to try stand-up. 28 years later Slim has toured the world, won awards for his work and recently had a solo show at the London Palladium.
Ben and Danielle Marsh tell the story of how their family shot to fame after they started sharing their music on social media during lockdown.
Seth Lakeman shares his Inheritance Tracks: Blowin’ in the Wind by Bob Dylan and Beeswing by Richard Thompson.
Queen of Clean Lynsey Crombie will talk about why cleaning became so important to her, and how a chance phone call gained her public prominence.
A Queen For All Seasons: A Celebration of Queen Elizabeth II on her Platinum Jubilee by Joanna Lumley is out now. Slim is at the O2 Arena with Mo Gillian + Friends on Wednesday 8th December. The Marsh Family's Bring Us A Candle/ Mack the Knife single is out now. The 15-Minute Clean: The Quickest Way to a Sparkling Home by Lynsey Crombie is out now. Seth Lakeman's latest studio album Make Your Mark is out now and he is touring the UK now.
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Monica Galetti: chef, judge on Masterchef and chef proprietor of her own restaurant, judge on the BBC programme MasterChef: The Professionals since 2009 and has presenter of Amazing Hotels...
In the studio we have Raymond Antrobus, one of the most exciting and acclaimed poets working today whose journey includes discovering he was deaf aged 6 and finding his passion for writing.
Royd Tolkien’s brother Mike was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease aged 37 and very sadly died a couple of years later. Before his death, he told Royd about a bucket list he'd written for Royd to do, which included some pranks and stunts and took Royd on an emotional and physical journey.
In January 2020, listener and mum of four Wendy Searle left her office job and reached the South Pole after a 42 day journey alone, dragging all her kit and food with her on a a Pulk (sled). She became only the 7th woman in the world to complete the journey. She did the journey to show that anything is possible… and now plans to go again next winter….
We also have the Inheritance Tracks of Jack Dee who chooses Downtown by Petula Clarke and Really Free by John Otway and Wild Willy Barratt and your Thank you.
Producer is Corinna Jones
Guy Garvey joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi. The singer and 6 Music presenter has been making music with elbow for over three decades. He talks about the band’s achievements and the inspiration behind his lyrics.
Kate London toured the UK with her own theatre company, but was inspired to become a Met Police Officer and these experiences have led to her becoming a crime writer.
Jet Suit inventor Richard Browning has been called the real life Iron Man. He talks about his work, taking the plunge to pursue his passion, and what it's like to fly.
Hannah Cockroft MBE shares her Inheritance Tracks: You To Me Are Everything by The Real Thing and The Scientist by Coldplay.
Paul Whitehouse made his award-winning mark on comedy in shows such as The Fast Show and is now starring in Only Fools and Horses The Musical, which he co-wrote. Paul talks about taking a much loved sitcom to the stage, health and going fishing with Bob Mortimer.
Elbow’s latest album Flying Dream 1 is out now. Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on 6 Music from 2pm on Sunday. The Tower, adapted from Kate London's debut novel, is available to watch on the ITV Hub. Taking on Gravity: A Guide to Inventing the Impossible from the Man Who Learned to Fly is out now Only Fools and Horses The Musical is booking until 26 February 2022
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Alice Feinstein
Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi are joined by Evanna Lynch who was a Harry Potter superfan who developed anorexia aged 11. Whilst having treatment, her beloved Harry Potter books provided an escape, particularly the dreamy, independent character of Luna Lovegood in the fifth book. When the film came around amazingly she won the role, and Evanna played Luna for the remaining four films. She joins us.
A few years ago, Hamza Yassin went on holiday to a remote Scottish peninsula. He never left. He is now an acclaimed wildlife cameraman who loves to spread his enthusiasm for the natural world with a series on CBeebies and a new series on More4.
Asma Elbadawi led a four-year campaign to overturn a ban on hijabs in women’s basketball. Now a performance poet, she joins us.
In 2016, vet Rob Pope decided to to copy Forrest Gump and run across America. During his journey Pope became the living embodiment of the Tom Hanks character: long scraggly beard, Bubba Gump’s baseball hat and all. By the time he finished, 422 days later, he’d crossed the United States more than four times, covering a distance in excess of 25,000km – the equivalent of 600 marathons – and become the first person to trace the whole Gump route.
Lady Anne Glenconner chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, The Platters and Nimrod, Edward Elgar, and we have your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Jimmy Carr joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi. After deciding to pursue a comedy career in his mid-twenties Jimmy has now toured the world as a stand up and is a household name thanks to programmes such as Channel 4’s 8 out of 10 Cats. Jimmy talks about the power of laughter and how it's transformed his life.
Natalie Cumming tells the incredible story of her family's violin.
Dr Richard Shepherd has been a forensic pathologist for over 30 years and has been involved in the investigation of over 23,000 cases, including 9/11 and the Bali bombings. He discusses what drew him to his career and the impact his work has had, personally and psychologically.
Miriam Margolyes shares her Inheritance Tracks: MacCrimmon’s Lament sang by Jeannie Robertson and Cecilia Bartoli singing the aria Agitata Da Due Venti by Vivaldi.
Julie Fowlis is an award-winning Gaelic singer and musician. Growing up in North Uist, her native landscape influences her work. She's had global success, singing on the soundtrack of Hollywood blockbuster Brave and performing at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, but Julie explains that she never intended to be a performer.
Jimmy Carr’s Before and Laughter is out now. The Fiddle by Natalie Cumming is out now. The Seven Ages of Death by Dr Richard Shepherd is out now. This Much is True by Miriam Margolyes is out now. Julie Fowlis is part of the Voices Unwrapped festival next year at King’s Place in London. Her first performance which launches the festival will be on January 14th.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Daisy May Cooper, the comedy actor and writer joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles to talk about how her life growing up in rural Gloucestershire inspired the BBC Three mockumentary-style, This Country. Thomas Leeds also joins us. He was left with no memories of his childhood after a car accident, until an iconic 80s song suddenly unlocked memories that had been lost for years. When Jacob Mitchell aka MC Grammar, a teacher from north London, posted a video of himself rapping The Gruffalo to his four-year-old daughter, it went viral and he’s now teaching kids amazing facts through rap. TV stars Dick and Angel Strawbridge bought a dilapidated chateau in the Pays de la Loire in France and have spent the last few years transforming it into a sustainable business as well as a home for them and their two children. We have the Inheritance tracks of DJ Pete Tong who chooses Jingo performed by Santana and What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye. And your Thank you.
Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by award winning comedian and lover of all things random, Ross Noble, who has 16 nationwide comedy tours under his belt, is a regular panellist on comedy shows and currently to be seen on iplayer on The Apprentice Australia.
Paralympian sprinter Libby Clegg has won nine major gold medals, including two at the at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio for the 100m and 200m and she is the first blind contestant on Dancing On Ice. She joins us.
Listener Georgia Naish got in touch about the significance of an object she inherited, a Spanish fan that her grandad brought back from his time fighting in the Spanish Civil War.
Scottish tenor Nicky Spence won a prestigious record deal aged 22, but he recognised that it wasn’t quite the path he wanted for himself, and he returned to his training, going on to become an inaugural Harwood Young Artist at English National Opera.
We have the Inheritance tracks of John Barnes who chooses You’ll never walk alone performed by Shirley Jones and Optimistic by Sounds of Blackness. And your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Tom Daley joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi. Tom fulfilled his Olympic dream this year, becoming the most decorated British diver of all time. He talks about the challenges he’s faced, the lessons learnt, passion for knitting and his proudest achievement so far.
Listener Alexis Roxburgh shares his paragliding stories.
Anne-Marie is a West End child star turned multi-platinum-selling artist and The Voice coach, who also found time to be a karate World Champion. But despite success, the singer struggled until recently to find true happiness and confidence.
Bobby Gillespie shares his Inheritance Tracks: The Band Played Waltzing Matilda by June Tabor, and Joe Hill by The Dubliners.
Ann Shaw talks about spending over 4 years in the Craig-Y-Nos TB sanatorium in Wales as a child, and connecting with fellow survivors as an adult.
Coming Up for Air by Tom Daley is out now. You Deserve Better by Anne-Marie is out now. Tenement Kid by Bobby Gillespie is out now. The Children of Craig-Y-Nos by Ann Shaw is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Sir Lenny Henry: comedian, actor, writer, fund raiser, he’s graced our stage and screen for almost 50 years and now he’s put his talents to writing for the next generation.
Arthur Timothy is an architect turned artist whose work is inspired by photographs from the past and his own memories. He describes his paintings as love letters to his family. He joins us.
We have Paula Sutton who worked in fashion magazines for years before she decided to showcase her own distinctive style online in her instagram account, Hill House Vintage, which soon became her full time job.
And Simon Thomas, who had a successful career first as a Blue Peter presenter then fronting Sky Sport’s Premier League football coverage. Then, in 2017, his wife died suddenly from acute myeloid leukaemia. Simon retired to care for their son, and 4 years later is reflecting on the evolution of his grief and return to work.
We also have Bernadine Evaristo's Inheritance Tracks, she chooses Mona Lisa by Nat King Cole & Bridge Over Troubled Water sung by Roberta Flack, and your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Matt Baker joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi. Matt's career has taken him from Blue Peter to The One Show and Countryfile. He’s recently returned to live on his family farm and feels growing up with nature helped in all aspects of his life.
Listener Jo Bradshaw is an office worked turned adventurer - who leads expeditions and was attempting to summit Everest during the earthquake of 2015.
Khadijah Mellah became the first British Muslim woman to win a horse race in the UK. Age 18 she won the Magnolia Cup at Goodwood Festival. Khadijah has now launched a scholarship programme to bring more people from underrepresented communities into the sport.
Robin Ince shares his Inheritance Tracks: Geoffrey Burgon's Theme from Brideshead Revisited and Batyar by The Ukrainians.
Josh Widdicombe is a comedian, writer and co-presenter of the award winning Last Leg. As a child in rural Dartmoor it was watching television, rather than performing, which mattered most to him.
A Year on Our Farm by Matt Baker is out now. The Importance of Being Interested: Adventures in Scientific Curiosity by Robin Ince is out on the 7th October. Watching Neighbours Twice a Day...How ’90s TV (Almost) Prepared Me For Life by Josh Widdicombe is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi are joined by Henry Holland - who started his career in teen magazines but became a fashion hit in 2008 after his slogan T shirts were worn by designers Giles Deacon and Gareth Pugh at London Fashion Week, his fashion business closed last year but he has since released a hugely successful ceramics collection and is now designing rugs.
There is also Ramla Ali, the first Somali boxer in history to compete at the Olympic Games,
Molly Schiller who completed a Masters studying the heart disease which took her little brother’s life when he was 10,
and Felix White, formerly of the Maccabees, is a musician and broadcaster who, after his Mum's death when he was 17, forged family with the band and obsessed over cricket.
We have the Inheritance Tracks of sailor Hannah Mills MBE, who chooses Creep by Radiohead and A thousand trees by the Stereophonics, and your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Paul Merson was one of English football’s brightest stars in the 1990s. He was capped for England 21 times and scored 99 goals for Arsenal before transferring to Middlesborough for the then highest fee ever paid by a first division team. But throughout his career, Paul waged a very public battle with addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling, as depicted in his new memoir Hooked. He talks to Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi.
Jamie Laing grew up in Oxfordshire and Knightsbridge, attending prestigious public schools and moving in exclusive social circles. Despite never having had a “proper job”, Jamie has found fame in Made in Chelsea, made it to the final of Strictly Come Dancing, launched a successful confectionary brand and describes his journey in his new memoir I Can Explain.
Sue Tilley was once Lucian Freud’s favoured life model and his painting of her have broken auction house records - one sold for £35 million in 2015 and another belongs to Roman Abramovich after it was snapped up for a cool £17 million. But how did a long-time manager at a central London JobCentre light up the art world? And have the millions changed Sue’s perception of her own body and life?
The chance return of a box of family artefacts led listener Corinna Edwards-Colledge to trace the extraordinary history of her father Paul and uncle Roy. They were both involved the Surrealist art scene of the 50s and 60s, with her uncle living in Farley House with Roland Penrose and Lee Miller. She reveals how recovering their paintings and poetry has changed her understanding of them.
And we hear the Inheritance Tracks of comedian Tez Ilyas.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Richard Hooper
Annie Nightingale joins Nikki Bedi and Suzy Klein to talk about her 50 years in broadcasting, including being the first female DJ on Radio 1 and how her love of new music has led to her being the station's longest-serving broadcaster. Annie also explains why she owes a debt to The Beatles.
Ranger Jonathan Ford explains how his love of birds took him to live in Papa Westray, one of the smallest islands in Orkney.
Chef Poppy O’Toole lost her job and was inspired by her siblings to make PoppyCooks TikTok videos. She swiftly got 1.8 million followers and will talk about her new career path.
Neil Oliver shares his Inheritance Tracks: La Mer by Charles Trenet and Martha by Tom Waits.
Adam Andrusier was once an obsessive collector of autographs and his drive to collect signatures inspired Zadie Smith to write a story based loosely on his life. Adam’s obsession eventually turned into a profession, with roots going back to his father’s collecting habits.
Hey Hi Hello: Five Decades of Pop Culture from Britain's broadcasting DJ pioneer Annie Nightingale is out now in paperback. Poppy Cooks: The Food You Need by Poppy O'Toole is out on the 16th September. The Story of the World in 100 Moments by Neil Oliver is published on the 16th of September. Two Hitlers and a Marilyn by Adam Andrusier is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Mo Gilligan, host of his own Bafta winning Friday night TV show, judge on the Masked singer, a comedian with sell out tours behind him, but only 5 years ago he was working the shop floor in retail, he joins us to talk about his journey into primetime.
Gavanndra Hodge's childhood was chaotic as both her parents had addiction problems, then tragedy struck and her little sister died. She reflects on loss and trauma.
Simon Amstell is a writer, director and stand up comedian who first came to prominence on Popworld then later on Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He’s since directed and written films and done stand up tours.
Saturday Live listener Yvonne Hausman wrote to us about her father, a London cabbie who in the 1960s and 70s garnered a reputation in Lincoln, Nebraska for giving his customers a slap up meal on a Friday night!
We have the Inheritance Tracks of writer Ann Cleeves, and your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Bananarama – Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward - who tell us about surviving forty years in the music industry with hits including Venus, Robert De Niro’s Waiting and Cool Summer.
James Ketchell has circum-navigated the world by gyrocopter, as well as single-handedly rowing the Atlantic, climbing Everest, and cycling across the world.
Listener Mary Monro on retracing her father’s footsteps across China and the route he took after escaping from a Japanese prisoner of war camp in 1941.
Shanaze Reade is a five-time world champion cyclist in BMX and the team sprint - and a two time Olympian. She is taking part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins on Channel 4 in which 12 recruits are tested to the limit on a remote Scottish island.
And the Inheritance Tracks of author Lynda La Plante, who chooses The Great Pretender by The Platters and Nessun Dorma sung by Luciano Pavarotti.
Producer: Annette Wells
Actress and author Celia Imrie joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles to discuss her debut non-fiction novel, set against the backdrop of the sinking of the Titanic. Celia explains her family connections to the legendary ship and talks about her love of travel and career highlights.
Listener Nick Wharton got in touch about his adventures in climbing, and being reunited with his estranged father.
Tom Chapman is an award-winning barber who experienced a personal tragedy that led him to create The Lions Barber Collective, a charity which aims to support mental health by offering a safe space for people to talk. Tom's also just written his debut children’s book.
Singer Frankie Bridge shares her Inheritance Tracks: I Heard it Through the Grapevine sung by Marvin Gaye and Don’t Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin.
Restaurant critic, MasterChef guest judge and writer Grace Dent talks about the comfort food that she enjoys when not working, and how it’s inspired her new podcast. Grace also reflects on realising her childhood ambitions and her love of the Lake District.
Orphans of the Storm by Celia Imrie is out now. How Hard Can It Be by Nick Wharton is out now. The Mighty Lions & the Big Match by Tom Chapman is out now. GROW: Motherhood, mental health & me by Frankie Bridge is out now. New episodes of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent are released every Tuesday.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Harry Enfield, who’ll be telling us how he went from part-time milkman to BAFTA award-winning comedian, actor, writer and director, creating characters such as Tim Nice-But-Dim, Smashie and Nicey and Kevin the Teenager and how now he's playing the Prince of Wales. Catriona Rennison, who has just started as a junior doctor despite being discouraged from following a career in medicine after being treated for anorexia as a teenager. James McNicholas, is a writer and performer who’ll be telling the story of his grandfather, Terry Downes aka ‘The Paddington Express’ who held the World Middleweight Boxing title in 1961, and about his own heavyweight story of trying to live up to the champ's legacy. Nina Conti started out as a spear carrier with the RSC but after meeting the actor Ken Campbell, took up ventriloquism, and for the last twenty years she and her dummy Monkey, have played to sell-out crowds in Edinburgh, London, Melbourne, Sydney and New York. We have the Inheritance Tracks of broadcaster Emma Barnett, who chooses Cheek to Cheek by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong and The Time is Now by Moloko. And your Thank you.
The Windsors: Endgame is at The Prince of Wales Theatre, London The Champ & the Chump by James McNicholas is published by Headline.
Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Tim Vine, a comedian who eschewes the observational / confessional style, and celebrates joke telling and puns, his latest tour combines his love of music with comedy. Listener Fiona Maher grew up hearing that she had a half-brother that she’d never met. After 40 years, she finally found him. She joins us to tell us what it’s like to have a new family. Phil Manzanera has played in some of the biggest stadiums in the world as the guitarist of Roxy Music. His South American heritage is at the root of his latest work. Yazz Ahmed is a trumpeter described as “the high priestess of psychedelic Arabic Jazz”, she joins us. We have the Inheritance Tracks of actor David Thewlis, who chooses Starry Starry Night by Don McLean, and 11.59 by Blondie. And your Thank you.
Ellie Taylor joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The comedian, writer and The Mash Report newsreader talks about her path to stand-up, real life inspiration, and ruining her life in the best way possible.
Listener Tom Edwards has had a successful broadcasting career but he hit rock bottom and ended up homeless. He talks about his road to recovery, and how he was helped by a well-known comedian.
Mevan Babakar's family fled Iraq in 1991 and she spent her childhood moving from country to country. She explains why she decided to track down the asylum centre worker who gifted her a bike when she was five.
Andy Hamilton shares his Inheritance Tracks: It’s Impossible by Perry Como and It Doesn’t Matter Anymore sung by Buddy Holly.
SK Shlomo can produce more noises from his mouth than the average orchestra. As a beatboxer, he’s performed at Glastonbury Festival and has collaborated with musicians including Bjork. But behind the music Shlomo has struggled with mental health issues.
My Child and Other Mistakes: How to Ruin Your Life in the Best Way Possible by Ellie Taylor is out now. Longhand by Andy Hamilton is out now. Shlomo's Beatbox Adventure For Kids is touring now until November throughout the UK.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Nikki Bedi and Shaun Keaveny are joined by Christian O’Connell, presenter of the Breakfast Show on Gold FM in Melbourne, Australia. He tells us why he left his number one show on Absolute Radio, with three million listeners, to move to the other side of the world and take on the toughest radio market there is.
Listener Lisa Jones on the World War Two dog tag she found in her garden and what she discovered when she went in search of the owner.
Paula Craig was a detective in the Metropolitan Police, a marathon runner and triathlete when she was knocked off her bike and paralysed. She tells us how she was determined to live life to the full, pushing marathons and how she is about to swim in a Channel Relay.
Novelist and screenwriter Deborah Moggach shares her Inheritance Tracks. She's chosen Ella Fitzgerald, Thanks for the Memory and Dory Previn, The Lady with the Braid.
Comedian Daliso Chaponda shot to fame on Britain’s Got Talent where he reached final by getting the Golden Buzzer. Since then, he’s performed at the Royal Variety Performance, has his own series on Radio 4, Citizen of Nowhere and is about to embark on a UK tour with Apocalypse Not Now.
Producer: Annette Wells
Jack Savoretti joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles to talk about his heritage, how his mum inspired him to get into music, and why for his seventh studio album, Europiana, Jack has reached back into his memories of childhood holidays spent on the beaches of north west Italy.
Listener and musician Elaine Bryant contacted us to tell us about a very lucky escape she had back in 1984. She was 17, a harpist from Dublin, on a tour of North America and Canada, when they got caught in a snowstorm in the wilds of North Dakota.
On active duty during the first Gulf War in 1991, John Nichol's Tornado bomber was shot down. He was held as a prisoner-of-war and under threat of execution appeared on TV around the world reciting Iraqi propaganda. John explains how a reunion 25 years after the conflict inspired him to tell the stories of the people involved.
Journalist and author Caitlin Moran shares her Inheritance Tracks: Sister Suffragette from Mary Poppins and Something Good by Utah Saints.
Fifth generation circus performer Emily England was a semi-finalist with her roller-skating brother on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. The duo became Las Vegas headliners but Emily suffered a terrible knee injury that threatened her career. Emily talks about her life as a performer and making her West End solo debut as a magician.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Jack Savoretti's album Europiana is out now, he is performing over the summer and has a 12 date UK tour next spring. Tornado: In the Eye of the Storm by John Nichol is out now. More Than A Woman by Caitlin Moran is out now in paperback. Photo Credit: Alex Lake. Emily England is a guest star Wonderville: Magic & Illusion at the Palace Theatre in London from 28th July - 2nd August.
Matt Haig is an award-winning author of fiction for both adults and children and his memoir of depression and anxiety Reasons to Stay Alive became a runaway bestseller. He joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi to discuss the inspiration for his latest non-fiction work The Comfort Book.
Bexy Cameron was born into the Children of God cult and moved around the world with the notorious group. She escaped at fifteen but later felt compelled to document religious sects in order to better understand her childhood and her parents’ motivation for remaining in one. Her book Cult Following explores her childhood and her extraordinary journey through US religious cults.
Debbie Money recently discovered her mum’s recipe book spanning five decades. From conch fritters to cheese and pineapple hedgehogs, Debbie is recreating her parents’ dinner parties to honour her mum, who died earlier this year, and to time travel through food.
Charlie Gilmour was photographed hanging off the Cenotaph in Whitehall in 2010, an act that would see him imprisoned for violent disorder. Charlie was going through emotional turmoil at the time, having been abandoned by his biological father. Years later, Charlie would take an abandoned magpie chick under his wing and the bird flourished under his care, opening his own path to fatherhood. He joins us to talk about what it means to be a father and his book, Featherhood.
And we hear the Inheritance Tracks of broadcaster Anita Rani.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Richard Hooper
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Craig Revel Horwood, He is the one to impress on the Strictly Judging panel, a critical eye honed by his long history in performance and choreography including West Side Story, Cats, Chess, Sister Act, Annie, Son of A Preacher man and all the Strictly Tours.
Jessie Cave played Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter films, is a comedian, doodler, podcaster and now a novelist, she joins us.
Will Buckingham has always opened his house to strangers. When his partner died of breast cancer in 2016 he found continuing to do so helped him with his grief.
Saturday Live Listener Rita Oakes tells us about her mum, the long distance lorry driver.
The Inheritance Tracks of writer Michael Rosen who chooses Tom Lerher’s song Wernher von Braun and Young Hearts Run Free, Candi Staton.
And your Thank You.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Felicity Kendal made her stage debut as a baby. Over 70 years later she’s preparing to appear in her first musical, Anything Goes. She talks to Nikki Bedi and Suzy Klein about her career, including the impact of playing Barbara in The Good Life.
Sarah Bickers grew up in a welcoming but messy home, and, living with ADHD, has learnt how to to create order out of chaos. She shares her experiences to help others as a professional declutterer.
Jamie Hull was involved in a plane crash which saw most of his body burnt and he was given a 5% chance of survival. It took years for him to recover mentally and physically. He talks about how he’s found the strength to seize life and inspire others.
George The Poet shares his Inheritance Tracks: And the Beat Goes On by The Whispers and Collateral Damage by Burna Boy.
Ore Oduba triumphed in the 14th series of Strictly Come Dancing. He’s now about to tour the country in the Rocky Horror show.
Felicity Kendal is appearing in Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre in London from Friday 23 July 2021, until Sunday 17th October.
Life on a Thread by Jamie Hull is out now.
George The Poet: Live From The Barbican takes place on Thursday 1st July.
Ore Oduba stars as Brad Majors in The Rocky Horror Show - which is touring at venues across the UK from the 16th July.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Johnny Flynn is in the rare position and being both an acclaimed musician and a successful actor who is breaking into the A-list both here and in America. He recently starred as David Bowie in the biopic Stardust and Mr Knightly in a big-screen adaptation of Emma and has just released an album he made during lockdown with writer Robert MacFarlane; Lost in the Cedarwood. He joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles to talk about combining music, acting and family life.
James O’Brien grew up knowing he wanted to follow in the footsteps his journalist father by having his own career in the media. However, after experiencing a crisis in his personal life a few years ago, James realised that neither is job as a broadcaster on LBC or his expensive public school education had prepared him to cope with his emotional trauma. He talks about his book How Not to be Wrong: The Art of Changing Your Mind.
When most people take pictures of their friends, the photos are briefly admired but usually quickly forgotten. But when Carinthia West took photos of her friends in the 70s, they included icons such as The Rolling Stones and Helen Mirren. Carinthia’s candid photos which offer a glimpse into the private lives of the rich and talented were left unprinted for decades and have only recently been revealed to the public for the first time.
Steve Brown was captain of Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby team at the London Paralympics in 2012. Since then, he has become a regular fixture on our TV screens as a presenter on Countryfile and Escape to the Country. He talks to us about his love of nature and the moments which changed the course of his life.
And we hear the Inheritance Tracks of Sugababe Keisha Buchanan.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Richard Hooper
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by iconic Beninese singer songwriter Angelique Kidjo. Whilst known for her energetic world music style she has also collaborated with Philip Glass, covered Talking Heads, played to a jubilant crowd at the BBC Proms and worked as an advocate for the rights and education of women.
Growing up in Afghanistan in the 80s, Waheed Arian had to flee the war aged 5. He contracted TB in a refugee camp and his childhood and education were completely disrupted by war. He sought asylum in the UK, gaining enough qualifications to go to Cambridge University to study medicine. He joins us.
Esme Young ran an avant garde fashion shop, has made costumes for Leonardo Di Caprio and Renée Zellweger, lectures at Central St Martins and is a judge on the Great British Sewing Bee on BBC One.
Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith is also a passionate angler – he joins us.
We have the inheritance Tracks of the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell who chooses Chopin Nocturne No. 1 in b-flat minor and Tippett A Child of our Time, and your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Big Zuu joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles. The rapper started teaching himself to cook when he was 9 and is now combining a career in music with his passion for food. Listener Shobha Edgell is a former barrister who, after retirement, took up walking football, as well as being an extra in television and film. Hamish de Bretton Gordon is a chemical weapons expert who also has a heart condition called Sudden Death Syndrome. Victoria Hislop shares her Inheritance Tracks: Take Five by Dave Brubeck and Pio Poli by Michalis Hatzigiannis. Rick Stanton is a cave diver who, in the summer of 2018, was one of the lead divers involved in the rescue of a trapped football team from a flooded cave in Thailand.
The second series of Big Zuu’s Big Eats starts on Monday 7th June at 10pm on Dave, and all episodes available as a boxset on UKTV Play from then. Chemical Warrior by Hamish de Bretton-Gordon is out now. Maria’s Island by Victoria Hislop is out now. Aquanaut: A Life Beneath the Surface by Rick Stanton is out on the 10th June.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Sara Cox has been entertaining the nation for 25 years, first through Channel 4 and MTV, then as host of Breakfast on BBC Radio 1 and now drive time on Radio 2. She joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles to discuss her latest project, TV book club Under the Covers.
Ben Dunne’s teenage son River died in a tragic road traffic accident in Sweden alongside his fellow bandmates from Viola Beach and their manager. They were on the cusp of stardom, scheduled to play a series of festivals in the UK and beyond. In the years following the tragedy, Ben has dedicated his life to providing opportunities for young people in River’s name.
Anoushe Husain is a paraclimber who was born missing her right arm below the elbow. A civil-servant by day, Anoushe has experience multiple health conditions including cancer, and now supports girls from deprived backgrounds to improve their lives through climbing.
Listener Dr Stephen Gillam is a GP who wonders if he was predestined to take up the stethoscope after discovering his family have been doctors for the best part of 250 years.
And we have the Inheritance Tracks of ballet dancer Darcey Bussell.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Richard Hooper
Award winning comedian and actor Omid Djalili joins us to talk about his route to fame, taking part in Splash, quiz show catchphrases, performing in Persian for the first time recently and getting back on stage after lockdown.
In 1974, aged 17, Debbie Gayle travelled to the Soviet Union to train at the Kirov school of ballet. It was the height of the Cold war, and she found the experience thoroughly unwelcoming with the exception of a woman called Natasha who became her friend. When Debbie became ill and was isolated in hospital, Natasha proved to be a life line, helping her return to the UK where she left ballet and started a family. Almost 50 years later she told the story to her son and tracked Natasha down, creating a podcast about her experience called "Finding Natasha".
Former Chelsea and Everton winger turned 5live pundit Pat Nevin on becoming a footballer by accident.
Emma Gray is a world-renowned sheepdog trainer who recently relocated from a remote farm in Northumberland to the even more remote Isle of Bute in Scotland. Not only did she take along her husband and baby, as one would expect, but she packed up her 500 sheep, 40 cows and 20 dogs and transported them by ferry. She talks to us about uprooting, new love and new pastures.
Mary Beard chooses her inheritance tracks: Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel and Sisters are Doin' it for Themselves by Eurythmics with Aretha Franklin. And your thank you!
Producer: Corinna Jones
Russell Tovey joins Nikki Bedi and Shaun Keaveny. The actor shares how his childhood passion for cartoons and collecting developed into a life changing love of art. Monica Korpal talks about why she retrained to become a nurse. Having been a hospital patient since childhood, due to a rare blood condition, she now works for the Haematology Unit where she was a patient. Alex George entertained millions on Love Island in 2018 but he's also an A&E doctor and personal experiences now make him focused on improving mental health and well-being. Jonathan Dimbleby shares his Inheritance Tracks: Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, the final movement. Celebrity auctioneer and antiques dealer Raj Bisram has appeared on television programmes including Channel 4’s Four Rooms and the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, Flog It! and Bargain Hunt. But before he followed that path, he served in the army, as a ski racer and instructor and loves performing magic.
Talk Art by Russell Tovey and Robert Diament is out now. And you can listen to the Talk Art podcast. Russell is also appearing in Constellations with Omari Douglas (30 July - 11 September) at the Vaudeville Theatre in London. Russell is curating Breakfast Under The Tree at the Carl Freedman Gallery in Margate in June, Prismatic Minds at The Flowers Gallery in London in July and a Hugh Steers exhibition in August. Finally, Russell is a 2021 Turner Prize Judge.
Live Well Every Day by Dr Alex George is out now.
Barbarossa: How Hitler Lost The War by Jonathan Dimbleby is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Chef Raymond Blanc began to write a recipe book at the beginning of 2020 inspired by the fast and simple cooking of French scientist Edouard de Pomaine and by his mother. He had no idea the world was about to change. A few months later, Raymond was self-isolating when he found that his mother had died in France and then he was hospitalised with Covid for a month over Christmas and into January. He joins Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles to explain how Simply Raymond: Recipes from Home reflects how the past year has changed his approach to food and life.
Kathryn Heyman experienced a horrific assault in her early 20s on her way home from a party. In a bid to escape the trauma, Kathryn joined four trawlermen on the Timor Sea where she was unexpectedly able to heal from the wounds of the past. She joins us to talk about her new memoir Fury.
Actor Joseph Marcell has been well-known to British theatre audiences for 50 years, beginning his stint at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1972 and now sitting on the board of The Globe Theatre. He is globally famous for a different reason, having played the role of British butler Geoffrey in hit 90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which launched the career of Will Smith and is still in syndication on television networks around the world.
Asian Network presenter Yasser got his first break in TV when he was 12. He talks about discovering a different side to Pakistan when he went there as a DJ, being a 2012 Olympic Torch Bearer and shares stories from his Ramadan tracker, which is discovering out how Muslims are celebrating Ramadan around the world.
And we have the Inheritance Tracks of designer Anya Hindmarch.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Andi Oliver whose first career was as vocalist and performer in the band Rip Rig + Panic with her brother Sean and Neneh Cherry, amongst others. She then explored her passion for food and had a cookery show, more recently she became a judge on The Great British Menu and this year is hosting the show for the first time.
Joe Marler plays rugby union for Harlequins and has 72 caps for England, has played for the British Lions and the Barbarians. He plays loose head prop and has been known to sport a mohican. He has said that ‘loose head’ was a good way to describe him - on the field he played the role of the pantomime villain, using the game as a way of letting out his aggression – legally! But off the field he was struggling with his mental health… he joins us.
IT consultant Ed Accura never learnt to swim as a child growing up in Ghana and it was only after the birth of his daughter that he decided jump in a pool. Spurred on by shocking statistics which said 95 per cent of black people don’t swim in the UK, Ed has created two docu-dramas called Blacks Can’t Swim. He joins us to talk about his journey to the poolside.
Writer Rebecca Schiller decided to try her hand at outdoors living by moving into a smallholding in the heart of Kent. But instead of finding calm, her mental health deteriorated and she began wondering if she had made a terrible mistake.
And Deborah Meaden from Dragon’s Den chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Smooth Sailing by the Temptations and Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye. And your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Tim Burgess joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi. The Charlatans frontman talks music, meditation and how his lockdown Twitter listening parties have become more successful than he could have imagined.
Natasha Coates developed severe allergies when she was 18. She threw herself into gymnastics and won 22 British titles and 38 British medals. Natasha talks about living with her condition and what sport means to her.
Lawrence Okolie tells the story of how he went from an unhealthy fast food server to world boxing champion and Olympian , inspired by seeing boxer Anthony Joshua in the 2012 Olympics.
Presenter Liz Kershaw shares her Inheritance Tracks: Bobby Darin - Beyond the Sea and You Could Be Mine by Guns N' Roses.
George Butler talks about his experiences as an award-winning artist and illustrator. His work, specialising in reportage, travel and current affairs, has taken him around the world, drawing and telling the stories of people in war zones, refugee camps and most recently on the Covid frontline.
Tim's Twitter Listening Party is on daily, replays available via the website. Tim Burgess' book The Listening Party is being published in September. Lawrence Okolie's book Dare to Change Your Life is out now. George Butler's Drawn Across Borders: True Stories of Migration is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Ben Fogle became famous over twenty years ago when he spent a year living on a Scottish Island for early reality TV programme Castaway. It was the springboard for remarkable career involving television presenting, publishing ten books, climbing Everest, swimming with crocodiles, saving elephants, walking to the South Pole and rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. He tells Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi about his most recent project; travelling around the country to tell people about his extraordinary life.
Ade Adepitan is a former Paralympian and a globe-trotting TV presenter, but he has only just started his most important adventure - fatherhood. He joins us to talk about this new chapter in his life and his latest three-part series, Ade on the Frontline: Climate Change.
Liz Knight never felt comfortable in a suit when she worked in sales. After being made redundant she began working in a day care centre and, through the elderly people she met there, she learned more about local wildlife on the Welsh Borders. Liz turned that knowledge into a business and now a book Forage: Wild Plants to Gather, Cook and Eat.
Listener Christina Longden contacted Saturday Live to tell us about her great great great grandfather, whose life had been shrouded in secrecy for a hundred years. Robert Stanley was a working class man from Manchester, who rose to become mayor and was one of the earliest converts to Islam.
And snooker player Steve Davis shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Claire Bartleet
Nikki Bedi and Rev Richard Coles are joined by Mel Giedroyc, one half of Mel and Sue who shot to fame hosting Light Lunch, and then warmed our hearts and made us drool with the comforting TV cooking competition programme Great British Bake Off. Since Mel has acted, presented, podcasted about quilting, and she’s written her first novel. Stuart Lawrence’s life was thrown into disarray aged 17 when his adored older brother Stephen was killed in a racially motivated attack. Determined to have an positive impact on young people, he became a teacher, and is now a motivational speaker. Tiggi Trethowan is a listener who contacted us with her story of losing her sight. Alice Cooper chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Train Kept a Rollin’ by The Yardbirds and Thunderclap Newman, Something in the air and your Thank you. Producer: Corinna Jones
Liz Pichon talks to Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi about celebrating 10 years since her first Tom Gates book came out, ways she coped with undiagnosed dyslexia, doodling, and why, when she was growing up, her dad may have had the best job. Chris Bavin was a market trader turned grocer whose career took an unexpected turn when he was invited to be a TV presenter. He explains why his latest job has taken him to the New Forest. A surprise birthday present left Kath Cordingly with a love of beekeeping, she now owns around 10 million bees and is often found rescuing swarms from unusual places, despite developing an allergy to bee stings. Singer Mica Paris shares her Inheritance Tracks: Come Live with Me Angel by Marvin Gaye and Tom Browne- Funkin for Jamaica. Comedian and producer John Simmit talks about his life and career which includes playing Dipsy in the original Teletubbies series.
Tom Gates: Ten Tremendous Tales by Liz Pichon is out now and the closing music was from Tom Gates The Album which is also out now. BBC Two’s Remarkable Places To Eat is back for two part series. Chris’s episode about the New Forest is on 6th April at 8pm. Mica Paris’ latest album Gospel....is out now. John Simmit narrates the Windrush musical Rush : A Joyous Jamaican Journey which tours around UK theatres starting on August 28th. Venues include The Palace Theatre, Redditch; Nottingham Playhouse; Bournemouth Pavilion.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Composer, musician and producer Nitin Sawhney has just released his 11th studio album ‘Immigrants’ and has scored over 50 films and televisions programmes. He joins Suzy Klein and Nikki Bedi to discuss his life, his multi-award-winning music and how he manages to work across the worlds of music, film, video games, dance and theatre.
Jeanne Socrates is a retired maths lecturer who battled through cyclones, broken bones and the loss of her husband to become the oldest person to sail non-stop and unassisted around the world in 2019. She’s recently completed a solo campervan tour of Australia and is looking to continue her sailing adventures once the pandemic ends.
Ravinder Bhogal is a former beauty journalist who swapped eyeshadow palettes for pots and pans as an award-winning restaurateur and food writer. She crosses multiple cultures through her recipes and her second cookbook Jikoni was shortlisted for the André Simon prize.
Melissa Rice was a well-presented schoolteacher in her twenties who was privately suffering from mental health problems, Crohn’s disease and alcoholism. After entering recovery from alcohol abuse, Melissa went on to co-host Hooked, a BBC podcast about addiction, and has written Sobering: Lessons Learnt the Hard Way on Drinking, Thinking and Quitting.
We also hear the Inheritance Tracks of television presenter Philip Schofield.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Richard Hooper Presenter: Nikki Bedi Presenter: Suzy Klein
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Ray Mears - an authority on bushcraft and survival, he's been presenting TV series and teaching on the subject for 3 decades.
Jono Lancaster has a rare genetic condition called Treacher Collins Syndrome and was adopted at birth. He has made TV programmes, set up a charity and travelled extensively supporting other young people with facial difference. He discusses his journey to self acceptance.
Jenny Packham’s designs have graced countless red carpets and award shows since she launched her eponymous label in her early 20s. She tells us how she was inspired from a young age by her two dressmaker Grandmothers.
Jake Tyler got severe depression and felt burnt out as a manager of a busy London pub. He ditched city life and embarked on a 3,000 mile walk around Britain, visiting every national park while meeting dozens of friendly strangers who offered him a bed.
And the poet, actor and DJ Craig Charles chooses his inheritance tracks: Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit and Wilson Pickett singing Hey Jude. And your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by singer Louise Redknapp who found fame in Eternal after being spotted in a nightclub aged 15. She went on to have a successful career as a solo artist, with 3 top ten albums, on stage in 9 to 5, and was also a Strictly finalist. Louise talks about growing up in the public eye, success, struggles and lessons she’d like to share.
Para-powerlifter Ali Jawad became seriously ill at the Beijing Paralympics. He was later diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and was expected to retire; but, 13 years later he is still competing and hopes to make it to the Tokyo Olympics later this year.
CBS news correspondent Martha Teichner talks about the unexpected friendship which changed her life, with the arrival of Bull Terrier Harry.
Presenter Nicky Campbell shares his Inheritance Tracks: Smile by Nat King Cole and Alone Again (Naturally) by Gilbert O'Sullivan.
Celeste Bell's mother was X-Ray Spex frontwoman Poly Styrene. She talks about her life growing up, how she's recently found out more about her mother's extraordinary life; why she was encouraged to get a good education and inheriting a love of travel.
You’ve Got This by Louise Redknapp is out now. Ali Jawad will take part in the Para Powerlifting World Cup, from 25-28 March in Manchester. When Harry Met Minnie by Martha Teichner is out now. Nicky Campbell's book One of the Family is out now. Poly Styrene: I am a Cliché is out now to watch through Modern Films.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Gareth Thomas was 20 when he made his international rugby union debut for Wales in 1995. He went on to win 100 international caps for Wales, captaining them as well as the British and Irish Lions. Gareth announced publicly he was gay in 2009 and retired from rugby in 2011. In 2019, Gareth spoke openly about living with HIV and his new book Stronger documents the impact of his diagnosis and the ensuing publicity. He talks to Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi about challenging assumptions about HIV and masculinity.
Chris McCausland is a stand-up comedian who is now a regular fixture on TV after 18 years on the circuit. Chris had to quit his job in IT because of a hereditary eye condition which means he is now blind. He almost became an MI5 spy at one stage but instead decided to make people laugh with his observational comedy.
British Iranian musician and artist Roxana Vilk is collecting lullabies in diverse languages that are sung to children around Bristol and the UK. Singing Lullabies in Farsi to her own children allowed Roxana to connect with her culture and childhood experiences of conflict in the Middle East.
Sylvia Wiggins was the drummer of the Liverbirds, emerging out of 1960s Liverpool as one of the world’s first female rock bands. They aimed to rival the Beatles in popularity and they eventually went on to play with Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks and the Rolling Stones.
And we hear the Inheritance Tracks of singer Gabrielle.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Richard Hooper
Presenter: Nikki Bedi Presenter: Richard Coles
Niki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Sophie Ellis Bextor. Having started in the music business aged 16 in indie band theaudience, she went on to have a hugely successful solo dance pop career with hits like Groovejet and Murder on the Dancefloor. Most recently seen singing in her kitchen every fortnight in her online Kitchen Disco.
After taking calls from lonely farmers as a volunteer for the Samaritans, listener Heather Heber Percy founded a rural dating agency to connect single people in the countryside. She joins us.
Beth French is an endurance swimmer with a history of ME, who became the first person to swim from Cornwall to the Isle of Scilly. She juggles her training with being a single mother to her autistic son Dylan.
And Guvna B is an award winning rap artist, who found that his father's sudden death in 2017 challenged his faith, and ideas of masculinity and identity.
We have the Inheritance Tracks of crime writer Stuart MacBride who chooses The Bear Necessities performed by Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen and My Chemical Romance: Welcome to the Black Parade.
And your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Classic BRIT award winner Jess Gillam. At 22 Jess has released 2 albums, performed at the Last Night of the Proms and became the youngest ever presenter for BBC Radio 3. Jess talks about growing up in Ulverston in Cumbria, realising childhood ambitions and using music to spread joy.
Drew Pritchard is the star of TV’s Salvage Hunters. He shares his passion for junk which has led to him discovering the casts that Lord Elgin made of his infamous marbles. He’s also made a million and lost it, and made it again.
Listener Hannah Mornement's mother was a volunteer nurse in Ethiopia in 1985. Hannah talks about retracing her footsteps and meeting the people her mother helped.
Writer Stella Duffy chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Life on Mars by David Bowie and You Got To Run by Buffy Sainte-Marie & Tanya Tagaq.
Andi Osho’s CV includes film, TV, theatre, stand up and she’s just added fiction to the list. She talks about the inspiration for her debut novel, her late 20s life transformation and the importance of friendships.
Jess Gillam's performance of Michael Nyman’s ‘Where the Bee Dances’ with the Manchester Camerata will be broadcast as a digital stream at 8pm on Friday 26th February. Jess is part of the ‘Classical Vauxhall’ series – which will be available to view on Sat 20th March. Jess has also recorded a concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra which will be available via the RPO’s website from Thursday 25th March (7:30pm) and then available on demand for two weeks.
Man With A Van: My Story by Drew Pritchard is out now.
Lullaby Beach by Stella Duffy is out now.
Asking for a Friend by Andi Osho is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Chi-chi Nwanoku is a double bass player and founder of Europe's first professional majority black and minority ethnic orchestra, Chineke!. Chi-chi is the eldest of five children, born to a Nigerian father and an Irish mother. Early on, she discovered two competing passions: playing the piano and 100 metre sprinting. She explains to Nikki to Richard how at 5ft tall, she has managed to find success playing the largest orchestral instrument.
Musician David Gray is best known for his folk inspired songs which have netted him multiple Ivor Novello awards and Brit nominations. He’s also played the Royal Albert Hall and toured around the world. He celebrates nearly 30 years in the charts with his new album ‘Skellig’.
Louise Allen was adopted as a baby and suffered abuse throughout her childhood but found solace in art and writing. The artist now fosters her own children and has written the best-selling Thrown Away Children series based on her experiences on both sides of the care system.
Burley Smith was Junior Third Mate on the “Ship of Miracles” – a US ship that rescued 14,000 North Korean refugees at the beginning of the Korean War in 1950. It was referred to as “the greatest rescue operation ever by a single ship” by the US Maritime Administration. He joins us discuss his role in this extraordinary rescue.
And we hear the Inheritance Tracks of Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by award winning comedian, presenter and writer Russell Kane. He's been the host of three series of Live At The Electric, appearanced on Live At Apollo, Unzipped, Celebrity Juice, I Am Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Now and the host of podcast Boys Don't Cry and Radio 4 series Evil Genius, we talk to him about how he got there.
Listener Viv Bird accidentally joined an elite club in 1991 when she became one of few people to survive a plane crash - she joins us to tell her tale.
Riyadh Khalaf is a broadcaster, celebrity masterchef winner and LGBTQ campaigner of Irish/Iraqi descent - he tells his story.
Claire Martin was a foundling from Hong Kong who was adopted by a couple in the UK. She tells about her search for her birth relatives.
Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Sweetheart Contract by Magazine and Brotherhood of Man by Oscar Peterson along with Terry Clarke and we have your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Queen of Shops Mary Portas has carved out a role as a retail fixer, style guru and successful broadcaster. She joins Richard and Nikki to discuss her extraordinary career and a new season of On Style, a four-part series on Radio 4 exploring what style means to us and the way we live today.
Actor Adrian Dunbar grew up in Northern Ireland and moved to London as a young man to train as an actor in London. His career has included appearances in films My Left Foot and The Crying Game and television programmes such as Cracker and Ashes to Ashes, but most famously, since 2012 Adrian has played Superintendent Ted Hastings in Line of Duty. He tells us about his recent trip around his homeland for Adrian Dunbar’s Coastal Ireland.
Ella Risbridger is the author of cookbook and memoir Midnight Chicken which chronicles how cooking helped her through an anxiety disorder, depression and bereavement. She shares her favourite recipes from the book and explains how she feels cooking saved her life.
When listener Mark Davies’ uncle died last year, he was shocked to discover that he was a secret hoarder. As Mark cleared his house, he found every nook and cranny filled with both mundane and extraordinary objects from apple pips to World War II medals.
And we have the Inheritance Tracks of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Comedian Ed Byrne. He went from youthful horticultural dreams to stand up star and has toured every other year since the late 90s – so what’s he done in lockdown? Some walking, some woodwork and a cookery show... he join us.
We also have writer and poet Penny Pepper who is also a wheelchair-user who defied doctors' diagnoses and got inspired by the Sex Pistols and her English teacher to go into writing, leading to her book First in the World Somewhere.
Stephen Morris was the drummer for Joy Division and New Order who introduced new technology into the band to create Blue Monday and other era defining music.
Saturday Live listener Carol Godsmark contacted us with memories of her childhood growing up in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. As the daughter of a Canadian diplomat, her family were being tracked by the authorities. But a game of hide and seek uncovered a surprise in a hotel’s linen closet.
Actor Anna Friel gives her Inheritance Tracks, choosing Weird Fishes/Arpeggi by Radiohead Heart on Ice by Desi Friel (her dad).
And your thank you!
Producer: Corinna Jones
Labour peer Baroness Joan Bakewell has been a television presenter for over fifty years, most recently fronting Landscape Artist of the Year which returned to our screen this week. She joins Richard and Nikki to explain why she has taken up watercolours in lockdown.
Marc Hamer was homeless and worked on the railways before enrolling in art college. After discovering a creative outlet in gardening, Marc spent years creating and maintaining the garden of the mysterious, aristocratic Mrs Cashmere which is the subject of his memoir Seed to Dust.
Jonny Oates ran away from home to Ethiopia aged 15 to contribute to famine relief efforts but his trip didn't go as he planned . He subsequently became a teacher in Zimbabwe, parliamentary adviser in the first democratic South African Parliament and Chief of Staff to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in the coalition government.
Last June , Annie Birney and her partner Eoin Boyle swapped their lives in Dublin for a summer as caretakers of Great Blasket Island off the coast of Ireland. After beating over 24,000 applicants to the post, they spent three months looking after holiday guests on the remote island without electricity, WiFi or hot water. Annie joins us to discuss their extraordinary adventure.
And we hear the Inheritance Tracks of YolanDa Brown.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi are joined by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage. Writing for three decades, his first published poem was in 1987 whilst he was working in his day job as a probation officer, a job he followed his father into. A geography graduate who is still based in his home county of Yorkshire, how did he end up a member of the Royal household?
Vick Hope is a TV and radio presenter known for her work on the Capital Breakfast Show, I’m a Celebrity Daily Drop and as one of the new presenters on Radio 1’s Life Hacks. She joins us.
We are also joined by journalist Catherine Mayer, whose musician husband, Andy Gill from the band Gang of Four, suddenly took ill and died in February 2020. Just 41 days before, her mother Anne had lost her beloved husband John. United in their grief, the two women navigated grief and love together.
In June 1987, listener Philip Price and two friends were trapped at the summit of Mont Blanc for nine days with barely any water, food or heating. He recounts his experience and their eventual rescue by the Chamonix Mountain rescue team.
Skin from Skunk Anansie chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Stevie Wonder’s Pastime Paradise and Nina Simone singing Strange Fruit. And we have your thank yous.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by celebrity chef and food campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who talks about changes we can make to our diet to eat and live better. Thriller writer CJ Daugherty talks about her new book, Number 10, in which a fictional prime minister’s daughter battles subterranean intrigue in Whitehall. She also reveals her own chequered past before becoming a writer.
Award-winning author Andrew O’Hagan shares his Inheritance Tracks. He’s chosen This Is My Life by Shirley Bassey and Falling And Laughing by Orange Juice.
Spoken word poet Isi the Scribe has put together a poem from words and phrases suggested by the audience. He also talks about being a zoologist and voice over actor. And Lynsey Bleakley of Bumble and Goose shares how the pain of four miscarriages ended her career as a health visitor and how baking brownies helped her recover and create a new business.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s book Eat Better Forever is out now. Number 10 by CJ Daugherty is out now. Andrew O’Hagan’s book Mayflies is out now.
Producer: Paul Waters
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by writer and comedian Adam Buxton, who talks about his partnership with schoolfriend Joe Cornish, family relationships and performs a song. Anne Glenconner’s memoir Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown became a bestseller. Now 88, Lady Glenconner has written her first novel Murder on Mustique, set on the island formerly owned by her husband. She discusses her life, dealing with tragedy and why she’s now at her happiest.
As a Boxing Day treat, Jools Holland and Sheila Ferguson share their Inheritance Tracks. Jools Holland has chosen Up Above My Head by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Love Made Them Do That by Jools Holland With Ruby Turner. Sheila Ferguson has chosen What Are You Doing New Year's Eve by Nancy Wilson and When Will I See You Again by The Three Degrees.
During lockdown Jay Flynn become known for his Virtual Pub Quiz, which won him a place in the Guinness Book of Records. He’s also been awarded an MBE as he has raised over £750, 000 for charity. But in his 20s, after a relationship breakdown, he spent time sleeping rough in London – calling a bench on Victoria Embankment his home.
Adam Buxton's Ramble Book is out now. Murder on Mustique by Anne Glenconner is out now. Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra will welcome in 2021 with his annual Hootenanny on BBC 2. Sheila Ferguson is performing in We Need A Little Christmas in support of Shelter & Crisis, which will be streamed from 20th December to 1st January. Jay Flynn's Pub Quiz Book is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Rev Richard Coles are joined by Michel Roux Jr. whose father and uncle were the first in the UK to achieve three Michelin stars for their London restaurant Le Gavroche, where he partly trained in classical French cookery, also doing military service working in the kitchens of the Elysee Palace cooking for two French presidents. He now runs Le Gavroche, and has continued the cooking dynasty as his own daughter has also become a chef.
Maria Leijerstam Edy holds the Guinness World Record for being the first person to cycle to the South Pole, in 2013. Navigating avalanches and crevasses, extreme weather conditions and chronic pain, she reached her goal in just 10 days. She joins us.
Meriel Larken has spent over 30 years rescuing a ship that lies today on the world’s highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca in Peru. The Yavari, a Victorian steamboat built in a Birmingham shipyard was transported piecemeal through the Andes on mule back. It's now a popular tourist destination and B&B.
Rainer Hersch studied economics, but has made his name in orchestral music that has the audience laughing raucously in scenes more expected at a stand-up show. He joins us.
Don Black chooses his inheritance tracks: Besame Mucho by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme and The Way You Look Tonight by Fred Astaire and we have your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Dame Katherine Grainger won five medals for rowing in five consecutive Olympic Games from 2000 to 2016, including gold in London 2012. She also has a PhD in criminal law and is chair of UK Sport. She joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi to discuss her extraordinary life.
Kelly Jones is the frontman of the rock band the Stereophonics. Known for his distinctive gravel-voice, he was born in South Wales and followed his dad into the music industry. He’s just released a solo album Don’t Let the Devil Take Another Day and the recent documentary Don’t Let the Devil Take Another Day follows him through his recovery from throat surgery after which he had to re-learn to sing.
Ben Aitken was on the lookout for a budget holiday when he signed up for a five-day coach trip to Scarborough. Through spending time with the often elderly people on the bus, he discovered their fascinating stories and ended up signing up for six coach holidays across the UK which he has written about in his book The Gran Tour.
And we hear from Kev who, with help from his support worker Henrietta MacEwen from Buses4Homeless, was given a grant by the Vicar's Relief Fund to help him rent a home. The Vicar's Relief fund is part of the work of St Martin-in-the-Fields does with people who are homeless. To donate to the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin-in-the-Fields call 0800 082 82 84 now. Calls are free from landlines and mobiles.
And we have the Inheritance Tracks of actor Richard Armitage.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by award winning crime writer Ian Rankin who talks about taking John Rebus out of Edinburgh in his latest novel. Listener Joy France reveals how she became known as the Rapping Granny. Richard Essien's skills as a hip-hop dancer and dazzling illusionist saw him sail to the final of Britain’s Got Talent 2020, using stage persona Magical Bones. Comedian Mark Watson shares his Inheritance Tracks - The Logical Song by Supertramp and In The New Year by The Walkmen. A lifelong dedication to curiosity and problem-solving has led Ella Al-Shamahi not only to a successful career in paleoanthropology, but also in stand-up comedy.
The new John Rebus thriller A Song For The Dark Times is out now. Magical Bones will be live in London at the Hippodrome Casino on 13th December. Plus, there will be a UK tour of Black Magic starting in February next year. Mark Watson's latest book Contacts is out now. Ella Al-Shamahi's Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon starts on Saturday 5th December at 6.30pm on Channel 4
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Mica Paris. Hauled up onstage by Prince, fish 'n' chips with Stevie Wonder and footsie with Whitney Houston, and now EastEnders and a Gospel album. John 'Chickie' Donohue joins us from New York - he travelled more than 8,000 miles into the middle of the Vietnam War, to take his buddies some beers. Listener Liza Frank has been looking into folklore of the British Isles and sometimes beyond, and set her self the challenge of doing a ritual or tradition every day of the year and logging it in her blog. Karenjeet Kaur Bains is accountant by day, and a powerlifter the rest of the time - she is Britain’s first female Sikh powerlifter to represent Britain on the World and European stages. We have the inheritance tracks of writer John Lanchester who chooses JS Bach, Partita no. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825 played by Dinu Lipatti and Hong Kong Garden by Siouxsie and the Banshees; and a listener's thank you. Producer: Corinna Jones
Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi are joined by pub-loving celebrity chef Tom Kerridge who has been awarded two Michelin stars since opening The Hand and Flowers in Marlow. The pub celebrates its 15th anniversary with The Hand and Flowers Cookbook. Since opening the pub Tom has been a fixture of British cooking programmes and has famously lost 12st in weight. He has also turned his attention to the plight of British pubs in lockdown with his new BBC series Saving Britain’s Pubs.
Comedian and television presenter Tom Allen is currently offering up an Extra Slice of Bake-Off on Channel 4 and has just published his memoir No Shame which describes the stigma of being ‘an outsider’ as a teenager in 90s suburbia.
Naomi Riches was hit by a car while on a night out in London and spent months recovering from a head injury. Just four years later, Naomi would compete at the Beijing Paralympics, earning a Bronze medal for Great Britain. With a dogged determination to always do her best, she would eventually go on to net a Gold medal at London 2012.
Julie McDowall went ‘viral’ on Twitter in January 2019 when she told her followers that she has synaesthesia and can ‘taste’ names. She is also an expert in nuclear war.
And author Ken Follett shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Gabriel Byrne joins Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi. The Award-winning actor made his acting debut as a shepherd in a Nativity play and since then has made over 80 films, won a Golden Globe for In Treatment and had a successful stage career. He talks about growing up in Ireland, wanting to be a priest, turning his life around and loving a simple life.
Courtney Act talks about her life and career which includes winning Celebrity Big Brother 2018 (UK). The performer also talks about why she's giving a lesson in ‘Kindness’ as part of the Celebrity Supply Teacher series on CBBC.
Guitarist Hank Marvin shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen Lonnie Donegan - Rock Island Line and Allan Holdsworth - Joshua.
Listener Matt Flukes was told he has an incurable cancer just ten minutes after his adoption of two children was made official by a judge. He will talk about how he was inspired to write fiction by his experiences of adoption.
David Quantick is an Emmy-award winning comedy writer who has worked on Veep, Thick of It, Brass Eye and Spitting Image. But he explains everything might have been very different if he had carried on with his initial career choice in Law.
Gabriel Byrne main image credit: Jerome De Perlinghi 1999.
Walking With Ghosts by Gabriel Byrne is out now. Courtney’s Act’s lesson is on Thursday 19th November at 10 am on CBBC. Olly and Lilly, the search for a new race is out now Night Train by David Quantick is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and Richard Coles are joined by Akram Khan. Winning a disco dance competition as a child encouraged Akram to pursue what he saw as his one talent: dance. Today he is one of the UK’s leading choreographers, has an MBE for services to dance, and tells stories through dance on stages as varied as Sadlers Wells to the 2012 London Olympics stadium. Sarah Beeny has graced our TV screens for the past 20 years as one of the nation’s most loved property experts. She estimates that she’s now been in more than 1,000 homes offering advice on all things remodeling, interior design and extensions. Now, the cameras follow her and her family as they build a house from scratch in Somerset. When Dwayne Fields moved to London from Jamaica aged 6 he wondered where all the trees were. He escaped the city after discovering Epping forest and adventures in nature, becoming the first black Briton to reach the North Pole in 2010. The Scout ambassador and Countryfile contributor is now planning to take 20 disadvantaged youngsters to the Antarctic and has his sights on reaching the South Pole within the next two years. Saturday Live listener Bill Murray's father was the bodyguard and painting companion of Winston Churchill - he contacted us to talk about his memories. Writer Sophie Kinsella chooses her inheritance tracks, Five Hundred Miles by The Seekers and F. Couperin "Les Baricades Mysterieuses" played by Angela Hewitt on Hyperion Records and your "thank you". Producer: Corinna Jones
Sir David Jason turned 80 this year and spent lockdown writing his new book A Del of a Life: Lessons I’ve Learned which describes how, despite beginning his career as an electrician, he went on to play some of the UK's best-loved characters including Granville, Pa Larkin, Detective Inspector Jack Frost, Danger Mouse and, of course, Derek Trotter. He explains to Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi how he achieved the title of Britain’s 4th most hard working actor.
Journalist and television presenter Steph McGovern is currently hosting Steph's Packed Lunch on Channel 4, but before that she worked for the BBC as the main business presenter for BBC Breakfast. She describes herself as a hustler, persuading the BBC to take her on after doing work experience and becoming Robert Peston’s producer before moving in front of the camera.
Paul Stone (aka ‘My Dog Sighs’) gave up his teaching job to pursue his dream of being an artist. Rejected by every gallery he approached, he returned to his former career resigned to the fact that his dream would never become a reality. His desire to make art never left, and so inspired by graffiti artists (but not wanting to get in trouble with the law), he began secretly painting on discarded items of rubbish and leaving them for people to find.
Wendy Mason-Smith was 19 years old when her father decided to sell his newsagent in Hayle, Cornwall and hand build a catamaran to sail his family to Australia. Despite having very little sailing experience and being known for his terrible DIY skills, Wendy, her two younger siblings and parents, set off in the summer of 1976.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Shaun Keaveny are joined by Phillip Schofield who shares his highlights from spending nearly 40 years in television, and talks about coming out as gay- both publicly and privately. Wim Hof, also known as The Ice Man, holds multiple world records including climbing the highest mountains in the world while wearing only shorts. He reveals how the cold was his saviour in tough times and that a traumatic birth made him a man on a mission.
When Skepta won his 2016 Mercury prize he thanked his mother. Now Ify Adenuga talks about her life: growing up in Nigeria and protecting her children from youth crime whilst they were growing up in London.
Former Footballer and Pundit Jamie Redknapp shares his Inheritance Tracks: Easy by The Commodores and The Notorious B.I.G - Juicy.
Sharon D. Clarke MBE is an Olivier Award-winning actor and singer. She talks about her eclectic career, from her first hit “I Wanna Give You Devotion” with Nomad in 1991, to TV roles on Holby City and Doctor Who, and an Olivier Award-winning performance in Caroline, or Change, which she was about to take to Broadway before lockdown happened.
Life’s What You Make It by Phillip Schofield is out now. The Wim Hof Method by Wim Hof is out now . Endless Fortune by Ify Adenuga is out now. Jumpers for Goalposts: The Making of a Footballer by Jamie Redknapp is out now. Sharon D. Clarke performs in the audio project Written on the Waves which comprises 9 world premières including Lem N Ginge: The Princess of Kakos - released on 5th October.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi are joined by Rupert Everett, star of stage and screen with titles such as My Best Friend’s Wedding, An Ideal Husband, The Importance of being Earnest, Shakespeare in Love, St Trinian’s, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and his directorial debut which he also wrote and starred in: The Happy Prince.
We also have Charlotte Mensah, the UK’s authority on natural Afro, mixed and curly textured hair. Her journey took her between Ghana and the UK, overcoming some major hurdles, leaving school at 16, finding a community and security in hair dressing to owning her own salon, hair range and a charity to help others.
Jasvir Kaur Rababan MBE is a Sikh music therapist and one of the only female rabab players in the world. She talks about her journey from tone-deaf teenager to professional musician, and how picking up her instrument for the first time felt like coming home.
And JJ Chalmers joins us. A former Royal Marines commando, Invictus Games medallist, TV presenter, media personality and public speaker, after being severely injured from a bomb blast whilst serving as a Royal Marine in Afghanistan JJ suffered life-changing injuries that led him to a long road of recovery. He’s now swapping his microphone for the glitter ball on Strictly.
Writer Bernard Cornwell chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Down to the River to Pray performed by Alison Krauss and Pie Jesu from Fauré’s Requiem performed by Voces8, and we have your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Broadcaster and former MP Michael Portillo joins Suzy Klein and Richard Coles to discuss his new book which celebrates ten years of Great British Railway Journeys.
Actor Jude Akuwudike was born in Nigeria and lived there until he was six when a baffling illness lead to his parents, who were studying in London, to bring him to the UK for treatment. Jude recovered but the Civil War prevented his family returning to Nigeria and Jude went on become an actor, training at RADA and having successful career on stage and in film. He is now starring in his first ever Nigerian film, Eyimofe.
Listener Helen Lindsay emailed Saturday Live about her father Jack, who was a member of the Communist Party. Helen recently discovered that her father had actually been watched for decades by MI5.
Jeff Johns aka “Big Jeff” has been to a gig almost every night of the week for the past 18 years. He is a well-known presence in Bristol and his face is used as the literal stamp of approval in his favourite local venue.
And Tori Amos shares her Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein are joined by multi-award-winning dancer and Strictly Head Judge Shirley Ballas. Liam Meredith is a former offender who has turned his life around to become a dairy conservationist, business owner and mentor to young prisoners. Lara Prior-Palmer talks about being the first woman and youngest competitor to win the Mongol Derby, known as the world's longest and hardest endurance horse race. Dave Stewart shares his Inheritance Tracks: Only a Pawn in Their game by Bob Dylan and Liberation by Stewart Lindsey. Shaun Williamson, best known as Barry from EastEnders, explains his love of quizzing and talks about growing up in suburban Kent, his stint in the Navy, and the discovery of a long‐lost son.
Shirley Ballas: Behind the Sequins is out now. Lara Prior-Palmer's memoir Rough Magic is out now. Amitié – the new album from Stewart Lindsey is out now. A Matter of Facts by Shaun Williamson is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Marverine Cole are joined by writer and illustrator Cressida Cowell, whose How to Train Your Dragon series has sold 11 million books worldwide in 38 languages and is a major DreamWorks Animation film franchise, she’s also written the Wizard of Once series, the Emily Brown books and is the current Children’s laureate.
Rob Halford is lead singer of Grammy Award winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He struggled with his identity and drug and alcohol addiction. He's now sober and out!
Jessi Gutch was diagnosed with incurable cancer in February 2019, aged 26. Plans this year to work through her “bucket list” were replaced by shielding in her second floor flat. However, she still managed to explore some of these themes in a short film and she got married. She joins us.
Suzanne Bonnar grew up the only black child in a tiny Scottish town. She didn’t know her American father, but she felt connected to him via the US Naval servicemen who were stationed nearby. When the US military permanently withdrew from Loch Hope, she set about trying to find her dad. The story of their reunion was captured by a documentary crew. 25 years later Suzanne feels she has only just recovered from the experience.
Lexicographer Susie Dent chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Calypso by John Denver and Me, Myself, I, by Joan Armatrading, and your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Alan Davies joins Richard Coles and Marverine Cole. Having spent nearly 20 years on the QI panel, performing sell-out comedy tours and appearing in television sitcoms and dramas, Alan has branched out and written an unflinching memoir about his painful childhood.
Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason is a former lecturer at Birmingham University and the mother of seven children. The third eldest, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, was BBC Young Musician 2016 and performed at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The siblings have performed at the 2018 BAFTA ceremony, Britain's Got Talent, The Royal Variety Performance and at major concert halls around the world. How did she do it?
Harry Shearer is an American comedian, radio host and actor who is known for his stints on Saturday Night Live, for co-creating and performing in This Is Spinal Tap and for voicing up several characters on The Simpsons, including Mr Burns, Principal Skinner and Ned Flanders. He is now using his vocal skills to create an album of songs which Harry performs as Donald Trump.
Listener Barbara Butcher contacted Saturday Live to tell us about her grandfather, who died during the First World War at Ypres in 1917. He left behind a beautiful watch which has been in the family for four generations, but when her son had the watch opened up a few years ago, he was surprised by what he discovered…
And we have the Inheritance Tracks of food critic and broadcaster Jay Rayner whose latest book Last Supper: One Meal, a Lifetime in the Making is out now and the Jay Rayner Quartet will be live-streaming their gig on Oct 17th.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Shaun Keaveny are joined by Charles Spencer. Charles has a few hats – as Earl Spencer he is the custodian of Althorp house in Northamptonshire; he is the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales; he is the Queen’s godson; but also he is a respected author of history books – his latest tells the events of almost 900 years ago involving a dramatic shipwreck which changed the course of history – the story is, as he describes it, a mash up of Titanic and Game of Thrones with a bit of Sliding Doors thrown in.
We also have Sophie Carrigill who is co-captain of Britain’s women’s wheelchair basketball team. A decade ago at the age of 16, Sophie Carrigill was caught in a life-threatening car accident which paralysed her from the waist down, now she has just re-started group training for the 2021 Paralympics.
Louis Bird’s dad was record breaking pacific rower Peter Bird, who was attempting another crossing when he disappeared in the middle of the pacific ocean when Louis was 4 years old. Now 28, Louis has looked into his Dad's story, completed a mammoth row himself and made a documentary about coming to terms with his father's death.
As a Museum curator Rachel Morris advised museums on how to design exhibitions and make the most of their artefacts. But it was only when she decided to look at the hoard of family letters and random possessions that had been stashed under her own bed that she put together a museum of her own family life story and confronted some painful memories.
We have your thank you, and the inheritance tracks of soul superstar Ruby Turner who chooses chooses Aretha Franklin, Don't play that song for me and Gladys Knight, A licence to kill.
Producer: Corinna Jones
Richard Coles and Angela Scanlon are joined by TV presenter Richard Osman who has written his first detective novel set in a retirement village.
Ian Ridley is a sports writer who has written about the healing power of sport and the solace he found in county cricket following the death of his wife, pioneering sports journalist Vikki Orvice.
Bestselling writer Caitlin Moran discusses the unexpected difficulties of middle age life in her new book More Than A Woman.
Plus your thank yous and an interview with good Samaritan hot air balloonist Robin Batchelor.
And former politician Ed Balls shares his Inheritance Tracks. He chooses 'Dopo notte, atra e funesta' from Handel's Ariodante and 'We Shall Overcome' by Pete Seeger.
Producer: Steven Williams
Richard Coles and Angela Scanlon are joined by Nicola Benedetti. The violinist started the year winning her first Grammy and during lockdown she’s been inspiring thousands of people virtually, as well as indulging her passion for cooking. Actor Mark Williams reflects on his extraordinary career, as The Fast Show celebrates over 25 years since its first broadcast. Lucy Chapman's CV includes pop-punk musician, cabaret performer, librarian and now trainee barrister. She talks about her path to law and the impact of a recent ADHD diagnosis. Jonathan Slaght explains why he's devoting his life to saving the Blakiston’s fish owl.
Actor, writer and director Zawe Ashton chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Crazy Love Vol II by Paul Simon and Don’t Touch My Hair by Solange featuring Sampha.
Nicola Benedetti’s Elgar album is out now. She is performing at BBC Proms on Thursday 3rd September, at Snape Maltings Concert Hall on the 4th September, and has an online Philharmonia Session on Thursday 17 September 2020.
At 9pm tonight UKTV will be airing a two-hour special to celebrate The Fast Show.
Zawe Ashton's book Character Breakdown is out now.
Owls of the Eastern Ice - A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl by Jonathan Slaght, is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Richard Hooper
Richard Coles and Michelle Ackerley are joined by writer Joanne Harris; broadcaster Peter Snow; wildlife journalist and wasp expert Ben Aldiss and chef Joshna Maharaj.
Born in Barnsley, writer Joanne Harris MBE was a teacher for 15 years during which time three of her novels were published including Chocolat in 1999 which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliet Binoche. Since then, she has written 15 more novels, two novellas, two collections of short stories, a Dr Who novella, guest episodes for the game Zombies Run, the libretti for two short operas, several screenplays, a musical and three cookbooks. She is guest director of this year's Yorkshire Festival of Story and her new book Orfeia is out in September. You can find more information about the festival via yorkshirefestivalofstory.com
Most of us get as far away as possible when we spot a wasp, but Ben Aldiss does just the opposite. A wildlife journalist and teacher who was known as Dr Wasp by his students, Ben studied wasps for his doctorate and is an expert in their behaviour and what provokes them to sting. He joins us to discuss some of the myths people believe about the insects, how to avoid getting stung, and some of his own experiences working closely with them.
Joshna Maharaj is a chef who lost her sense of smell about six years ago. She talks about the devastating effect of anosmia, how she coped with her loss in the kitchen environment and why she kept it a secret for many years. She is now undergoing smell training to help her regain her lost sense and talks about her olfactory experiments and how smell is directly connected to memory and emotion. Take Back the Tray by Joshna Maharaj is out now.
There isn’t much ground that broadcaster, journalist and historian Peter Snow hasn’t covered in his career: the first presenter of Newsnight when it launched in 1980, and the face of the election swingometer - he’s since moved on to making documentaries with his son, Dan, and now, writing books with his wife, Canadian journalist Ann MacMillan. He joins us to chat about their new book which uses 50 documents to illustrate global history. He also reminisces about his career as a journalist, surviving a plane crash and the story of his unwitting audition for the role of James Bond. Treasures of World History: The Story of Civilisation Told Through the 50 Most Important Documents by Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan is out now.
Writer Matt Haig chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Don't You Want Me by the Human League and It's Quiet Uptown from the Hamilton soundtrack. And there's a thank you to a stranger who saved a dog's life.
Producer: Paula McGinley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Richard Coles and Michelle Ackerley are joined by Bob Harris. He has been whispering on our airwaves for 50 years: starting at Radio 1 and going to TV’s Whistle Test, Radio Luxembourg, Radio 2, BBC 6 Music, numerous local radio stations, back to Radios 1, 2 and 6 Music… all the time touring with musicians, interviewing them and listening to them – his passion for introducing music to the masses earning him numerous awards, and an OBE.
We'll also speak to Alice Dearing. She is one of the most successful young British swimmers in Britain, usually found competing in open water marathon events around Europe, but for much of lockdown she has not been able to swim. This meant she had time to focus on her activism, promoting access to swimming for black people and busting myths about swimming.
When she was a child, SL listener Janet Haite’s grandmother would unroll her stockings to show off her tattoos which covered most of her body. Janet’s grandparents were pioneers in the tattooing world and her grandfather, George Burchett, not only inked soldiers going off to fight in the First and Second World Wars but also European royalty. She'll share her memories.
And we'll have Mark Lane in the studio. Mark had a serious car accident which left him in considerable pain and unable to continue in his PR career. Getting out into the garden led him to pursue horticulture qualifications and to a successful and rewarding second career as a garden designer and the first presenter on Gardener’s World in a wheelchair.
Fay Ripley chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Streisand/ Garland, Happy days are here again/ Get Happy and Nicky Mulvey, Fever to the Form. And we have your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Jackie Kay is the national poet of Scotland and has taken her Makar duties seriously. She has written a weekly poem during lockdown, brought art into people’s homes with the broadcast Makar to Makar and written about the Black Lives Matter protests. She joins Richard Coles and Bridgitte Tetteh to discuss the timely reissue of her play The Lamplighter which follows five characters who are sold into the British slave trade.
Emily Kolltveit was the lead singer of a goth metal band for nearly a decade before she joined the priesthood. Her tour schedule saw her perform in beautiful churches around Europe, awakening an interest in God. Emily has started her new role at a church in Primrose Hill, London where she wants to spread the message of social justice.
Personal trainer Ben Mudge has always lived with the threat of a deadly lung infection, having grown up with Cystic Fibrosis. Despite this, he has been the cover model for Men’s Fitness magazine and, because he looks remarkably like the Marvel character Thor, he dresses up to inspire children and other people with Cystic Fibrosis.
Writer and performer Amrou Al-Kadhi founded the drag troupe Denim, whilst studying at Cambridge. Amrou recently won the Somerset Maugham Award for young writers for their memoir Life as a Unicorn which describes their transformation from a god-fearing Muslim boy to a drag queen, strutting the stage in seven-inch heels and saying the things nobody else dares to.
And we have the Inheritance Tracks of singer and ex-Spandau Ballet frontman Tony Hadley.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Bridgitte Tetteh are joined by Danielle de Niese who became the youngest ever winner of the Australian TV programme Young Talent Time at the age of 9. Her family relocated to Los Angeles, where Danielle made her professional operatic debut at the age of 15 with the Los Angeles Opera. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera at 19 and now performs around the world. She will host the TV coverage of the Proms 2020 later this summer.
Loyd Grossman claims he hasn’t had a career, he’s got a CV. It’s an extensive one; he was the presenter of TV programmes Through the Keyhole and the original MasterChef, he has been a punk guitarist, a journalist, a food critic and launched his own successful food line. And he is now a historian, having published a book about American artist Benjamin West in 2015 and now one on the Italian sculptor Bernini.
Sally Coulthard was a busy TV producer in London until she was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue syndrome in her late 20s. She was forced to move back home to Yorkshire where she fell in love with rural life. Sally, who has her own flock of sheep, has now published a book on how the woolly creatures have shaped the world.
Chris Steel was a bouncer in Blackpool when he returned to school to get his GCSEs. Unexpectedly, he fell in love with learning. Chris is about to embark on a PhD in cancer cell biology at Magdalene College, Cambridge.
And ballet dancer Deborah Bull shares her Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Richard Hooper
Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi are joined by TV presenter Richard Hammond, who has driven all kinds of vehicles all over the world. He discusses his passion for cars and motorbikes and how he dealt with life-changing injuries following a 300 mph crash in a jet-powered dragster. Kat Harbourne is one of the presenters of the Naked Podcast. She explains why she interviews people in the nude and whether it leads to a more revealing interview. Paul Wood is an expert in urban trees. His passion has led him to uncover a forest of exotic trees in London including Giant Redwoods and the peanut butter tree. Self-taught chef Asma Khan was born into a royal family in India. She moved to the UK to train as lawyer and eventually set up a successful restaurant with an all-women kitchen. Plus the Inheritance Tracks of singer-songwriter Jessie Ware who chooses 'I Get a Kick Out of You' by Ella Fitzgerald and 'Love is Stronger than Pride' by Sade.
Richard Coles and Nikki Bedi are joined by Graeme Garden - one third of the Goodies along with Bill Oddie and the late Tim Brooke-Taylor. In the classic BBC television show the trio played agents for hire and would do "anything, anywhere, anytime". Astride their trusty ‘Trandem’ – a three-seater bicycle – they tackled a giant kitten, parodied westerns with a Cornish version called “Bunfight at the OK Tea Rooms” and were chased by a giant Dougal from Magic Roundabout. Graeme also created I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, the long-running Radio 4 show on which he is still a panellist and, with producer Jon Naismith, devised the Unbelievable Truth on Radio 4.
Jojo Moyes is a novelist and journalist. Her books include the bestsellers Me Before You, After You and Still Me and The Girl You Left Behind. Me Before You has now sold over 14 million copies worldwide and was adapted into a major film starring Sam Claflin and Emilia Clarke. JoJo’s latest novel, The Giver of Stars, is based on a mobile library service launched by Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1930s. The Pack Horse Library Project was an initiative in which female volunteers on horseback delivered paperbacks to families in rural Kentucky who did not have access to books.
Giles Clark is a conservationist who is taking on the illegal wildlife trade and helping to build a pioneering new bear sanctuary in Laos, Southeast Asia. He'll be talking about rescuing sun and moon bears and the perils of having bears about the house.
And Garry Crothers, who lost an arm in a motorbike accident, joins us to talk about his epic journey - a 4,000 mile solo voyage from the Caribbean to his home in Northern Ireland.
Presenter and author Fern Britton chooses her Inheritance Tracks - Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer by Nat King Cole and (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman by Carole King.
Plus a listener says thank you to a stranger who helped her at a difficult time.
Producer: Paula McGinley Editor: Richard Hooper
Richard Coles and Viv Groskop are joined by aesthetician and skin expert Caroline Hirons. She went from counter girl to being dubbed the most powerful woman in the beauty industry, her blog has clocked up over a hundred thousand views and her book has just become the second ever on beauty to go to number one in the charts.
And furniture restorer Jay Blades, known for TV's The Repair Shop on why he cares so much about old things and the stories behind them.
Annie Atkins is a graphic designer who inhabits a secret world - if you notice her work – it usually means she hasn’t done her job properly. She joins us to discuss her journey to Grand Budapest hotels and Boxtrolls.
We also have Antony Barlow, a listener who contacted us about a secret he kept from his family until they opened a letter meant for him.
and Martha Wainwright choose Me Myself I by Joan Armatrading and Going to a Town by Rufus Wainwright.
plus your "thank you".
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Viv Groskop talk to England football legend John Barnes who earned 79 caps over 12 years. His talent was spotted as a teenager and he began his career at Watford, going on to have huge success at Liverpool in the 1980s and 90s. He has been a coach, a football manager and even scored a number 1 single with his contribution to football song World In Motion, and now works as a commentator and pundit.
DJ, raconteur, author, producer, broadcaster and Fun Lovin’ Criminal, Huey Morgan was born in New York and grew up listening to Latin American Music through his Puerto Rican heritage. He eventually became the frontman of rock band Fun Lovin’ Criminals and now has his own shows on Radio 2 and 6Music.
Mudlark Lisa Woollett is a photographer who has always been drawn to beaches and riverbeds, combing and searching for objects left behind from other times. Lisa is particularly drawn to the Thames where she has unearthed the story of her mother’s side of the family, the Tolladays. Her book Rag and Bone charts the history of this family of dustmen and scavengers and shows that the things we discard often find their way to the surface again.
Listener Jane Ferriday contacted Saturday Live to tell us the story of her birth parents, who met and fell in love during the Second World War, whilst they were based at an airbase in Berkshire. Her father was already married, and returned to his family in America and her mother placed her up for adoption. It was years later that Jane was able to find out what really happened and to piece together her story.
And we'll have the Inheritance Tracks of actor and comedian Sally Phillips.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nikki Bedi and the Reverend Richard Coles are joined by Ellie Simmonds. Ellie Simmonds was the face of the 2008 Bejing Paralympics, winning two gold medals in the pool at the age of only thirteen. She followed that up with further gold medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016 and was preparing for the Tokyo Olympics until the games were postponed.
Sand sculptor Jamie Wardley transforms tonnes of sand into objects of transient beauty and reveals how his art has enriched his life in an extraordinary way. Miles Leonard is a high flying music executive and landlord of a rural Somerset pub that has played host to some stellar names from the music business from Coldplay to Kylie Minogue. Also actor Denise Welch discusses her frank memoir about living with depression and the Inheritance Tracks of musician Norah Jones who chooses Blue Christmas by Elvis and Trenchtown Rock by Bob Wailers and the Wailers.
Producer: Steven Williams Editor: Eleanor Garland
Nemone Metaxas and the Reverend Richard Coles are joined by Simon Le Bon. As lead singer of Duran Duran: a band that has sold over 100 million records, had 18 American hit singles and 21 UK Top 20 tunes, he continues to perform to sold-out audiences around the world. He married a supermodel, had a family and explored his passion for yachts - his life the epitome of glamour. Now a proud grandfather, Simon Le Bon will be live in the studio.
We also have Ruqsana Begum, who is a Muay Thai world champion, the world’s first female Muslim boxing champion, who for five years kept her sport a secret from her family.
and Cardiff based café owner Kemi Nevins, who was fostered as a baby, her parents advertising the opportunity in the local paper. It was the start of a relationship she treasured for life.
And Andrew Cotter the sports commentator whose videos reporting on the behaviour of his dogs, Olive and Mabel, have accrued millions of views online.
We'll have the Inheritance Tracks of actor Mark Strong who chooses Mr Soft by Cockney Rebel and Birgit Nilsson singing the aria Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristan & Isolde, and your Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Dawn French has been one of Britain’s best-loved comedians since the mid-1980’s when her double act with Jennifer Saunders became a prime time television hit. She became even more famous as the star of The Vicar of Dibley and has gone on to write books, tour solo and write, produce and perform in television comedy and drama.
William Sitwell is a restaurant critic and food writer whose appearances on MasterChef and controversial comments about veganism have propelled him into the spotlight. His new book The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out allows us to dine out vicariously whilst the chefs’ kitchens remain closed.
Isobel Midnight was working in a care home when her sister booked her onto a beginners fire eating course. A few years later Isobel became a professional performer and last year she won two Guinness World Records for fire eating.
Saturday Live listener Jolene Jessiman shares the story of her great-grandmother Carrie Baliol who played for the first ever Scottish women’s football team in 1881.
And playwright and director Alan Ayckbourn shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Kate Silverton are joined by Gabby Logan who has covered most of the major sporting events in football, rugby and athletics and been a trailblazer for women in sport. Her own sporting credentials are impeccable : she’s the daughter of professional footballer and manager Terry Yorath, married to rugby international Kenny Logan and was also an international competitor in rhythmic gymnastics.
Carl Austin-Behan left a promising career in the RAF in the late 90s after his military superiors discovered he was gay. Since then he started his own business, won the Mr Gay UK contest and became the youngest person to ever hold the office of Lord Mayor of Manchester.
Comedian and actress Natasha Demetriou is well known for her role as a Nadja, an ancient vampire trying to cope with life in modern day New York in the comedy What We Do In The Shadows. However her latest project lets her out into the daylight, as she presents the Big Flower Fight, a surreal competition for avant-garde florists who make huge sculptures from flowers.
Ross Edgley is a man who likes a challenge, the more extreme the better. He discusses why he chose to be the first person to swim around the coastline of Britain and how mental resilience is a quality that can be learnt.
And writer Dame Marina Warner shares her Inheritance Tracks: Si mi chiamo Mimi from La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini and Sonata No. 3 in A major, op. 69 by Ludwig van Beethoven.
Producer: Steven Williams Editor: Eleanor Garland
This week Richard Coles and Kate Silverton are joined by Ricky Wilson, the lead singer of Kaiser Chiefs. The band’s hits include I Predict A Riot and Ruby and last year they released their seventh album, Duck. Ricky was a judge on The Voice and now presents the Pop Detectives podcast with Tony Blackburn.
Jack Monroe was an unemployed single parent living in poverty when she started a blog called A Girl Called Jack which described cooking nutritious meals for her family on a tiny budget. She is now a well-known cookery writer and campaigner, whose ability to knock up delicious food with limited ingredients has come into its own during the lockdown.
Sandra Palmer dreamed of being a fashion designer as a child. Her father Fritz had been a tailor in Jamaica before moving to Birmingham where he worked as a lorry driver. He would sew the dancing costumes Sandra designed as child and after Fritz died in 1999, Sandra decided to keep his legacy alive.
Richard Keenan was told that he was adopted when he was nine. After training as both a priest and a police offer, he waited until he was 40 to find his birth parents. Using his police skills to track them down, Richard discovered his birth family and the surprising story of his biological parents’ relationship.
And Inheritance Tracks this week from playwright Mark Ravenhill.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Shaun Keaveny are joined by Kirstie Allsopp - she has been in our living rooms, stepping into other people’s living rooms, and generally exploring their houses, for 20 years via TV's Location, Location, Location. She’s also embraced the nation’s obsession with crafts with programmes such as Kirstie's Homemade Home, Kirstie's Homemade Christmas, and most recently Keep Crafting and Carry on. She joins us. We also have Paul O’Grady, first known to us as Lily Savage, comedian from Birkenhead, dog lover, small holding owner, national treasure. And Esther Safran Foer, the daughter of a holocaust survivor who returned to Ukraine to meet the family who saved her father's life. And Kelly Smith, MBE, who holds the record for being the top scorer for England women with 46 goals in 117 appearances. She fought against prejudice but went on to play for England, Arsenal and in the US and since her retirement in 2017, has been a commentator and pundit on both the women’s and men’s games. There are the Inheritance tracks of Radio 4 favourite John Humphrys - he chooses Mary's Boy Child performed by Harry Belafonte and Take the A Train performed by Duke Ellington, and your "thank you"!
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Shaun Keaveny are joined by Kathy Burke who became a household name in the 1990’s for her comedy roles in Harry Enfield and Chums, Absolutely Fabulous and Gimme Gimme Gimme. She won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 for her performance in Nil By Mouth and is now a theatre director and writer.
Dan Jones is an author of bestselling books on English history including The Plantagenets, The Wars of the Roses, and now the 20th Century. His historical sweep is broad, as is his career, which has included writing about men’s health and exercise, interviewing A-list celebrities and a regular sports column in the Evening Standard.
Jessie Knight is currently juggling being a primary school teacher with training as a champion 400m runner. In the past it was a combination that Jessie found impossible, retiring early from her sport only to change her mind, resume training and go on to win the 400metres at the British Indoor Championships in February.
Listener Sharon Yamamoto White tells the story of parents, who met in a US Japanese internment camp during the Second World War
And film director Carol Morley shares her Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein are joined by Sarah Millican, one of the most successful women working in comedy in the UK, Sarah Dodd, a medic in the NHS who in her freetime has completed over 1675 escape rooms and who now competes in an international team of escape room enthusiasts and writer Helen Moat discusses her bicycle journey from Rotterdam to Istanbul and the healing benefits of slow travel. Plus actor Joe Tracini who has become a hit on social media after creating hilarious dance videos for those wishing to limber up during the lock down.
We have the Inheritance Tracks of Police drummer Stewart Copeland who chooses Aaron Copland's Hoe Down from Rodeo and Spanish Castle Magic by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, plus your thank yous.
Producer: Steven Williams Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein are joined by writer Marian Keyes, who has just published her 14th novel and has over 30 million of her books sold to date in 36 languages. Also with us is Tori Amos, the Grammy nominated singer-songwriter who has made 15 studio albums, sold 15 million records and also branched off into the worlds of classical music and musical theatre. John Partridge is known for his contribution to EastEnders and Celebrity MasterChef - which he won - he'll be talking about how cooking helped him through difficult stages of his life. And Flavian Obiero, the Sussex pig farmer who arrived in the UK from Kenya aged 15 and, as a keen sportsman, entered Britain's Fittest Farmer competition. We have the Inheritance Tracks of DJ and presenter Janice Long who chooses Happiness performed by Ken Dodd and Love Song by The Cure, and your thank yous.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by Clare Balding who found success as a racing correspondent and since then has presented the Olympics 6 times as well as numerous other chat shows, documentaries and programmes about biking and walking. She has now added dogs to her list of interests and has launched her own “Dogcast”.
The actor Daniel Mays has won widespread critical acclaim for roles in a diverse range of films, television and theatre productions, from Mike Leigh’s Palme d’Or nominated All or Nothing and Vera Drake to the hit police drama Line of Duty, Mother’s Day in which he portrayed Colin Parry, whose son Tim was murdered by the IRA in Warrington. His latest role is in the new Sky buddy-cop comedy Code 404, with Stephen Graham.
Laura Dockrill is an author, illustrator and performance poet whose first adult book What Have I Done? is a memoir of her experience of postnatal psychosis.
And Bernard Bibby who has recently earned the extraordinary achievement of passing his Grade 1 ballet exam at the age of 75.
We have the Inheritance Tracks of Jules Buckley who chooses Sweet Soul Music by Arthur Conley and Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by Alexandra Shulman, former editor of Vogue, who produced the magazine for 25 years and has now published a book about her life at the top, the pressures she faced and her love of clothes. Comedian Joe Lycett explains why he legally changed his name to Hugo Boss and back again. Commercial pilot Kate Burrows shares her story of surviving a crash landing in the Irish Sea and how she went on to become a member of the Goldfish Club. Natural history TV director Benedict MacDonald reveals the lengths he goes to bring nature programmes to our screens and also his mission to re-wild the British Isles. Plus the Inheritance Tracks of jazz saxophonist Soweto Kinch who chooses Snake Hip Swing by Ken Snake Hips Johnson and Pf Fat by Steve Williamson Feat. Black Thought (the Roots).
Producer: Steven Williams Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by Claudia Winkleman, one of our best known TV and radio presenters, known for her sharp wit and self deprecating humour not to say her thick black fringe, presenter of Strictly, Radio 2, podcast with Tanya Byron amongst many other things, she joins us on Saturday Live.
We also have Comic actor/ writer Robert Webb, from Peep show, Back, Mitchell and Webb, Confetti, dancing Flashdance to win Let's Dance for Comic relief, memoirist and now with his first novel.
and accountant Zahrah Mahmood was dismayed when her friends from her accountancy course took her hillwalking as a birthday present to take her mind off a difficult exam four years ago. But despite huffing and puffing to the top of Ben Lomond in a heavy scarf that first August day, hillwalking would become the hobby she turned to when things were tough.
and Andy McMillan is a listener who is one of only 3 professional model train makers in the UK. He's been 40 years in the business.
We have the Inheritance Tracks of Christian Louboutin who chooses Tina Turner’s Proud Mary and The Fugees’ Killing me Softly.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by former professional footballer turned sports broadcaster Gary Lineker. During his playing career he played for Leicester, Everton, Barcelona, Tottenham and Japanese side Nagoya Grampus Eight and was famously never booked. He has presented the BBC flagship show Match of the Day since 1999 and now has a 5Live Match of the Day (MOTD) podcast with fellow pundits Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, who meet up in Gary's kitchen for weekly debates about football.
Roland Gift was the lead singer of 80’s chart-topping band Fine Young Cannibals and, following his debut role in Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, he went on to have a successful acting career. Roland has now written and is starring in Return To Vegas, a musical drama for BBC Radio 4.
Clare Pooley is an author and the blogger behind Mummy was a Secret Drinker. Five years ago, despite appearing to be a glossy PR manager who had it all, she realised she was an alcoholic. But how do you tell the truth about your life? Clare started writing a blog charting her alcoholism and new sober life. Sharing the most difficult part of her story became the inspiration for her new novel, The Authenticity Project.
Rachael Campey was experiencing bullying and mental health problems when she became pregnant as a teenager. Now 21, she has graduated from university and has been nominated for the Inspirational Individual gong in the Yorkshire Choice 2020 Awards for her work in mental health support.
And actor Michelle Collins shares her Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by six time Olympic Champion, Sir Chris Hoy, who discusses the inspiration behind his career, retirement and writing children’s books. Ruth Linton is a grandmother from Manchester who became a stand up comedian after being treated for a brain tumour. Saturday Live listener and former high-flying police officer James Ellson reveals why he left the challenging streets of Moss Side to become a smallholder and writer of crime fiction and actor Mim Shaikh discusses why he joined a pilgrimage from Belgrade to Istanbul. Plus broadcaster Johnnie Walker shares his inheritance tracks.
Producer: Steven Williams Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined on the line by Sir Bob Geldof, of The Boomtown Rats, who left Dun Laoghaire for London, became known for punchy hits and outspoken interviews, then creating Band Aid and Live Aid. We also have Kelda Wood, who, in her mid twenties suffered a life changing injury and she has just become the first para athlete to row solo across the Atlantic. Derrick Osaze is ‘the punching preacher’ – last year he became Ultimate Boxxer III middleweight champion and was ordained as a minister. He joins us. Mary Wood, on her experience as a police officer of looking after a foundling for 24 hours, 25 years ago. And the inheritance tracks of Martina Cole who chooses Galway Bay, performed by Ruby Murray and Word on a Wing by David Bowie And your thank yous.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Neil Morrissey became a household name in the 1990’s playing Tony in sitcom Men Behaving Badly. As the voice of Bob the Builder he had two number one singles in the UK Charts and now combines acting with running pubs.
Alice Morrison is an adventurer who lives and (mostly!) explores in Morocco. She was previously a BBC news editor. She’s travelled extensively in the region, most recently completing a 78-day trek across the Saharan desert with three Berber companions and six camels, receiving help from nomads, and walking through areas of quicksand and landmines.
As a teenager who was suffering from depression, Matt Wesolowski was drawn to goth culture and wrote fiction involving vampires and monsters. He is now a bestselling author but has kept his day job teaching English to young people in Pupil Referral Units.
Nadia Finer is a business coach with a small voice. The kind of small voice that once made another mum at the school gates tell her own mum that ‘she ought to get that sorted out’, and which led to Nadia avoiding speaking in public for most of her adolescence and twenties. Now she’s embracing her shyness and by founding the Shy and Mighty Society and challenging herself to live in a bigger way.
And singer Jane McDonald shares her Inheritance Tracks - Downtown by Petula Clark and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Jo Whiley joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles. Jo presents on Radio 2 and from Glastonbury, as well as pursing her passion for gardening. A competitive swimmer in her youth, she is about to take on the triathlon for Sport Relief.
Saturday Live listener Deborah Rowland, who trained as an archaeologist and an anthropologist, describes how she uncovered her own human heritage when she tracked down her birth parents.
When Ryan Riley’s mum Krista was diagnosed with terminal small cell lung cancer, he cared for her for two years. In that time chemotherapy and radiotherapy dulled her sense of taste and she couldn’t enjoy food. After she died, Ryan had a life changing moment and decided to set up a cookery school for people like his mum.
Adapted from his memoir, Greetings From Bury Park, the feature film Blinded by the Light tells the story of Javed (Sarfraz Manzoor), a British Muslim teenager growing up in Luton and how he finds inspiration and hope in the unlikely form of Bruce Springsteen. Sarfraz explains how this has inspired his new show at the Leicester Square Theatre, Blinded by the Light – The True Story.
Dame Kristin Scott Thomas shares her Inheritance Tracks – These Boots Are Made for Walkin’, by Nancy Sinatra; and The Planets - Mars, The Bringer Of War, by Holst.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: John Goudie
Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by Joanna Trollope CBE, who has 22 novels to her name. A keen observer of our life and times, she is also the fifth-generation niece of Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope, has chaired awards, judged literature prizes and updated Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.
We also have Jason Watkins, the BAFTA winning actor who played Harold Wilson in The Crown, also starred in Nativity!, W1A, Line of Duty, Being Human and now McDonald & Dodds, two feature length detective police dramas. He is also a patron for Child Bereavement UK, following the death of his 2 year old daughter from Sepsis.
At the age of 35, Saturday Live listener Raphaël Kopel wanted to play football, but never having played before he found he was shunned on the pitch and struggled to improve. So, he decided to learn how to play, and then trained as a coach for other people, like him, who never learned as a child. He joins us.
Claire Nelson never imagined one of those terrifying stranded-in-the-desert ordeals could happen to her. Then, hiking in Joshua Tree national park, she fell from a boulder and shattered her hip, finding herself immobile and alone in a sun-baked wilderness. She's in the studio.
We have the inheritance tracks of Radio 1 presenter Clara Amfo who chooses Run to the Sun by NERD and Everything is Everything by Lauren Hill, and your thank yous.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Actor, writer and director Zawe Ashton’s career began at the age of six and, having appeared on stage and in films ever since, it was the TV role of Vod in Fresh Meat that made her famous. She has since appeared in Hollywood films, had her play For All the Women Who Thought They were Mad performed in New York and London and has published Character Breakdown, an account of her life as a young actor.
Amit Patel was a busy 33 year-old A&E doctor when he completely lost his sight over a 36-hour period, just 18 months after getting married. He hit rock bottom, and didn’t leave his home for three months. That’s when Kika came into his life – a guide dog who had been labelled as ‘difficult’.
Jewellery maker and metalworker Bob Rowberry spent the 1960s and 70s importing Afghan coats which appeared in Vogue and holding Eric Capton’s hat as he busked. He now lives off-grid in an old school bus, growing his own produce and teaching his craft.
Eleanor Wood is a writer from Brighton who, aged 32, felt like her life was falling apart. Her stepmum had died, her stepdad left her mum, and she broke up with her boyfriend of 12 years. So she started leaning on her best girlfriend, who taught her to be resilient, and staunch – and who also happened to be her nan. This led to a girls holiday to Goa with her nan and her two great-aunts.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the film director, DJ and musician Don Letts. He talks about being the son of Windrush, scion of dub and midwife of punk-reggae.
Molly Case is a nurse specialist in cardiac care and a slam poet, who wowed the Royal College of Nursing conference with a spoken word performance that made headlines. She explains what inspired her to make the switch from English to medicine.
Barry Dring lived a double life: oil trader by day, skateboarder by night. He describes how, since becoming a father, he’s discovered a new passion – for crochet.
Bridget Anderson grew up in Newport in South Wales, with mixed Welsh Burmese heritage. She recalls her grandmother’s wonderful stories of Burma, and fantastic cooking from Balachaung to Dahl and Wonton Pick-me-up-Soup.
Robert Carlyle shares his Inheritance Tracks: Watching the Wheels, by John Lennon and Waiting on a Friend by The Rolling Stones.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by Tracey Thorn, who escaped from suburbia, went to Hull University and emerged as one half of pop group Everything but the Girl. Her latest book details the influence of her background on her journey – not least how boredom was for her a catalyst for creativity. She joins us on Saturday Live.
Jenny Tong went from rebellious childhood and repeated school exclusions to trying weightlifting at University where she was doing an International Relations and Politics degree. Today she holds three British Under-23 records and finished fifth at the European Youth Championships in Romania. She joins us.
We also have Monty Halls, who left the Royal marines when he realised his passion was the marine part – he retrained as a marine biologist and has done expeditions and documentaries about marine life ever since. His latest one sees him take his whole family with him, to the Galapagos islands.
Stephen Saunders learnt to fly after he lost a leg in an accident – then he flew a hot air balloon under Clifton Suspension bridge. He’s also a Saturday Live listener – he joins us.
Ainsley Harriot chooses his Inheritance Tracks - Be My Life’s Companion performed by The Mills Brothers and I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl performed by Nina Simone. And we have your thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Frances Barber first played rock star, screen goddess and drug addict Billie Trix 18 years ago and, along with Jonathan Harvey and the Pet Shop Boys, she is set to reprise the role in cabaret Musik.
Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse began as two Instagram posts called “help” and “kind” that were shared a million times. They have been included in a book of life lessons that has become a surprise bestseller here and in the US.
Steve Smith is one of America’s most experienced astronauts. He has taken part in four missions and performed seven space walks, including five to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
Rosie Wilby is a comedian and "love researcher" who presents The Break-Up Monologues podcast.
And Emeli Sande shares her Inheritance Tracks - Three Little Birds by Bob Marley and Elgar's Cello Concerto performed by Jacqueline Du Pre.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Kay Mellor was a married mother at 16, and by her twenties had found her way to Bretton Hall College to study drama. An actor, director and screenwriter, she started on Coronation Street, before writing such TV classics as Fat Friends and Band of Gold, which she has now adapted for the stage. Paul Olima was born in Dublin. He played football professionally, before taking up sports modelling. He explains how he became a body double, standing in for the likes of Mario Balotelli, Usain Bolt and Anthony Joshua. Former bus driver, Justin Finlayson, converted a red London bus into a mobile recording studio for the benefit of young people in caught up in gang culture in north west London. Saturday Live listener, Susan Moore, recalls growing up on a bus, converted by her father, a pioneer of pirate radio. She recalls how the family invited musicians to live in the family home to train as rock and roll stars and then put on dances around the country, Duff McKagan, bass player in Guns N’ Roses, reveals his Inheritance Tracks: Funk 49 by The James Gang and Little Doll, by The Stooges.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein are joined by former Special Forces sniper, Ant Middleton, now star of Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins, where ex-Special Forces soldiers put civilian recruits through their paces, SAS style. Andrew Garrido was desperate to play the piano. He couldn't afford lessons, but undeterred, he made a keyboard out of paper and taught himself and is now studying at the Guildhall School of Music. Jane Couch took part in unregulated boxing matches for years – sometimes against men - before taking the British Boxing Board of Control to court in 1998 and winning, becoming the first British licensed female boxer. Listener Ellie Somme grew up with stories of her father’s work in the Norwegian resistance during the Second World War, but it wasn’t until he died that she discovered an archive of secret papers and realised the extent of his historical importance to the resistance movement. The inheritance tracks of Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director of the Young Vic, who chooses Sugar Bum Bum by Lord Kitchener and What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye. And a listener thanks someone they were unable to thank at the time.
Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Eleanor Garland
Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by Fay Ripley. Most famous for playing Jenny, her northern counterpart, in TV’s Cold Feet, the series started 24 years ago and continues next week. The actor also cooks - she has written 3 cookbooks, drives fast, has had a chat show and likes to try her hand at anything she fancies.
Sam Jalloh, who left Sierra Leone to play tennis, which he learnt playing barefoot and with a plywood raquet.
Dr Zoe Williams played Amazon in TV's Gladiators, whilst studying to be a doctor. Now a GP, she is also a TV doctor and health educator.
Christabel Carlisle (now Lady Christabel Watson) was a motor-racing pioneer, racing Saloon cars in the sixties (1960-63), competing against men, including some of the big names in the sport - Graham Hill, Jim Clark and Jack Brabham - at tracks from Silverstone to the famous Nurburgring.
We have the inheritance tracks of Golden Globe winner Brian Cox, who chooses Sonny boy performed by Al Jolson, and God Only Knows performed by the Beach Boys. And a listener thanks someone they were unable to thank at the time.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Crime novelist Kathy Reich’s famous heroine is Temperance Brennan, an academic anthropologist turned forensic anthropologist, much like Kathy herself. Her latest novel, A Conspiracy of Bones, is published this year and Kathy joins Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein.
Mike Bushell has made a career out of his hobbies; he famously holds the world record for participating in the greatest number of different sports on his Saturday morning slot on BBC Breakfast. He can now add ballroom dancing to the list as part of the Strictly 2019 line-up and 2020 tour.
After huge roles on TV and at the Royal Shakespeare Company and The National Theatre, this month actor Adjoa Andoh returns to The Archers and takes a leading role in Silent Witness which starts this week. And after three years of training, she has recently become a “reader licensed by the bishop” in the Church of England.
Andrew Gregory had a successful career as a hairdresser until a motorbike accident 18 years ago resulted in his lower leg being amputated. He’s now become a parapole athlete, winning a gold medal at the International Pole Sports World Championship and has been named “pole athlete of the year”.
And Paul O'Grady shares his Inheritance Tracks - Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum and A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody by Sonny Lester.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
The writer and poet Michael Rosen joins Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein. He shares his discoveries of a lost family found, the importance of play, and tells us how to eat a bagel. Back by popular demand: the cook Julia Georgallis, gives advice on ‘How to eat your Christmas tree’. Incurable romantic, William Cash, explains why he has a treasure trove of more than a thousand love letters, archived in a pig shed, and how restoring his family home helped him deal with heartbreak. Inspired by her experience of suddenly losing her mother, who ‘took her precious memories with her’, Bryher Scudamore set up an online template – autodotbiography. She describes how inheriting a wallet containing letters written by her great-grandfather, led to discovering surprising stories of his life just after the American Civil War. And Frank Skinner shares his Inheritance Tracks - Winter Wonderland, performed by Dean Martin and George Formby singing Why Women Don’t Like Me.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein are joined by Ruth Jones, who co-wrote and starred in one of our most loved TV comedies: Gavin and Stacey, which seemingly ended after 3 successful series, almost ten years ago. However, in May her co-writer & co-star James Corden announced they’d be back this year for a Christmas Special, and there are only 4 more days to wait as it airs on Christmas Day. Gloria Stewart will be here - the Yorkshirewoman organises a huge dinner every year for those lonely at Christmas. Also with us is William Hartston, mathematician, sloth enthusiast, chess player, Goggleboxer and puzzler, who will be setting some challenges on the programme. And Kieran Sandwell set off three years ago with a new heart to walk around Britain - 5,000 miles later, he's done it. We have the Inheritance Tracks of pianist Stephen Hough who chooses Chopin Etudes opus 25 no 1 in A flat major and A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten and your thank yous.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Jason Manford began his stand up career at the age of 17 and was nominated for the Perrier Award in Edinburgh in 2005 at just 24. As he embarks on a starring role in the West End run of Curtains, Jason tells Suzy Klein and Aasmah Mir why he won't be pigeonholed.
Justin Myers had been secretly detailing his romantic encounters and reviewing dates in the Blind Date column in the Guardian Weekend Magazine on his blog The Guyliner for ten years. Then he began to receive messages threatening to reveal his true identity. After deciding to unmask himself, Justin’s career has taken off; he published his first novel, The Last Romeo, in 2018 and his second novel The Magnificent Sons will published in May 2020.
Esther Rutter grew up on a sheep farm in Suffolk, where she learned to knit at the age of seven. She’s been an enthusiastic knitter ever since and last year, she set out to write a history of the craft, a journey which took her across the country, from Shetland to Guernsey.
Lara Band is a listener who emailed Saturday Live about her unusual hobby - creating dioramas of Pre-Raphaelite paintings using mummified rodents.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Actor and comedian Ben Miller joins Richard Coles and Suzy Klein to talk about why he chose comedy over physics and about his new children's book, The Boy Who Made The World A Disappear, in which the main character is inspired by his son. Zena Cooper was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome, a genetic condition which affected her eyesight to the extent that she hid her blindness from family and friends for over thirty years. Emily Chappell went from cycle courier to endurance cyclist, entering the Transcontinental, a 4,000km race across Europe, which is considered one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges. She only made it halfway – but the following year, she entered the race again and won. Dancer, actor and choreographer, Adam Cooper leapt to fame as The Swan in Matthew Bourne’s ground breaking production of Swan Lake in 1995, and now returns after twenty years in another Bourne franchise, The Red Shoes, the 1948 film by Powell and Pressburger based on a Hans Christian Andersen tale, at London’s Sadler’s Wells. Plus the Inheritance Tracks of children’s author Eoin Colfer who chooses - Get Down Make Love by Queen and Kindling (Fickle Flame) by Elbow feat. John Grant.
Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by Barbara Taylor Bradford who has just published her 37th book. Age 15 she started in the typing pool for a newspaper and was in Fleet Street as a reporter age 20. She published her first novel, A Woman of Substance, in 1979 and has sold 90 million books world wide. Also in the studio is David Loftus, who is a lone identical twin whose brother John died shortly after their 24th birthday. At the start of 2018 he set himself the challenge of writing a daily memoir reflecting on the events of just over 30 years ago leading up to his brother’s tragic death. Brenda Edwards is with us - she finally realised her dream of performing on the stage by entering the X factor in her mid 30s and is now appearing on the West End and Simon Yates who, during a climb up the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes, infamously cut the rope of his climbing partner Joe Simpson as depicted in the book, film and now play, Touching the Void. As well as your thank yous, we have the inheritance tracks of conductor and violinist Andre Rieu who chooses Sphärenklänge by Josef Strauss and What a Wonderful World performed by Louis Armstrong. Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Jazz/pop singer/songwriter Jamie Cullum joins Aasmah Mir and Mobeen Azhar. He talks about his music, and the personal stories that inspired his latest album Taller, his family and what's been passed down through the generations. Mark Bright tells his story of from foster care to football to reach the FA Cup in 1990. Alice Gorman AKA ‘Dr Space Junk’ is an archaeologist who’s made it her mission to explore artefacts that mankind has left in space. She describes how growing up on a farm in Australia inspired her passion. Nicola Wren wants to be not just a star – but a superstar – and she will NOT let her four siblings and her world-famous brother get in the way. And Dan Snow chooses his Inheritance Tracks - Slide Away by Oasis, and Mr. Brightside by The Killers.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell
This year marks Lorraine Kelly's 35th year as a broadcaster and her 60th birthday. Born in the Gorbals to teenage parents, Lorraine took a job at her local newspaper instead of a place at university and, despite being sacked while on maternity leave, is now one of Britain’s best known television presenters. Her new book Shine shares her secrets for success.
Amy Powney, creative director of sustainable fashion label Mother of Pearl, spent much of her childhood without mains electricity or running water when her parents sold their house to live off-grid in rural Lancashire. Despite being taken to school in a handmade trailer and having requests for tracksuits denied, Amy found that her parents approach to ethical living had influenced her when she began a career in fashion.
Professor Adam M Hill MB PhD is a dual-qualified Clinician and Mechanical Engineer with a military background and a career built at the interface of industry, academia and health systems. Adam is the Chief Executive Officer at immuno-diagnostics company Oncimmune, a company who are trailing new ways to detect cancer, but he has previously worked for the McClaren F1 team and has served in the Household Cavalry.
Carol Bates' mum Vivien Grant contacted us after hearing our interview with former footballer Casey Stoney, talking about her struggles to play the game she loved. Carol is from the generation of girls who weren’t able to play football at school or elsewhere and it wasn’t until she set up her own team at the age of 48, that she fulfilled her dream.
For Inheritance Tracks this week, actor Toby Stephens chooses You Are In My Vision by Gary Numan and Tubeway Army and She Belongs To Me by Bob Dylan.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Mobeen Azhar are joined by Greg James, who started recording shows in his bedroom, did hospital radio, student radio, podcasts, and his passion has paid off as last year he became host of the Radio 1 Breakfast show, which has pulled in 250,000 new listeners in his first year. Casey Stoney was Captain of England Women and is now Head Coach to Manchester United Women, she joins us to talk about being a trailblazer for the women’s game. Age 4 Amar Latif learnt that he would go blind, his eyesight deteriorated during his childhood and he had 95% sight loss age 18. After working as a successful finance manager for ten years, he changed career in order to fulfil his love of adventure travel and set up his own business for blind and sighted travellers. He joins us. We'll speak to Xenia Karayiannis was separated from her mother age 3 following the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and would not be reunited with her until she was 17; and also to 18 year old Emma who is in Wales doing the CIN Rickshaw Challenge. For Inheritance Tracks this week, writer Jojo Moyes chooses She’s Leaving Home by The Beatles and Are You Lonesome Tonight (the laughing version) performed by Elvis Presley, and we have your Thank Yous.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Dave Myers - one half of the Hairy Bikers – cooks and rides motorbikes, but he also studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths, worked as a furnace-man in a steelworks and as a make-up artist, specialising in prosthetics. Alongside Si King they’ve sold almost six million books and grown a generation of fans who like real home-cooked food.
Saturday Live listener, 80-year-old Crawford Mackie, is aiming to break his own 5k record today at Parkrun, attempting it in a new pair of running shoes.
When Tim Clark’s father, Sir Robert Clark, died in 2013 Tim discovered he had served in the Special Operations Executive in the Second World War, ‘Churchill’s Secret Army’, and undertook amazingly brave operations behind enemy lines. His father was a war hero, a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross.
In 2010, powerboat racer Shelley Jory-Leigh was competing for the world title when she crashed in Sardinia. The boat sunk to a depth of 85 metres but she and her co-driver were saved just in time. Shelley made a comeback and broke a National Speed Record on Coniston Water and competed in the Cowes-Torquay-Cowes marathon race, becoming the highest ranked British female finisher ever.
Writer Dawn O’Porter came to our attention as a documentary maker - on polygamy, childbirth, and the inexhaustible riches of the film Dirty Dancing. She became a full time writer after moving to Los Angeles with her film star husband Chris O’Dowd, and writes bestselling and critically acclaimed novels while dressed in items from her extensive wardrobe of vintage 70s couture.
The DJ and musical pioneer Norman Jay MBE shares his Inheritance Tracks – Mona Lisa by Nat King Cole and Optimistic by Sounds of Blackness.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Saxophonist, MC and composer, Soweto Kinch fuzzes jazz with hip hop beats. He premieres his new album, The Black Peril at the EFG London Jazz Festival, which highlights the episodes of racial tension 100 years ago in coastal cities from Liverpool to Cardiff and South Shields. Artist and biographer Keggie Carew's account of her extraordinary father’s life, Dadland, won the Costa biography Prize and became a best seller. Her new book, Quicksand Tales, features stories from her own adventurous - and occasionally misadaventurous life. Retired geography teacher Helen Rennie has skied every month of the year for the last 10 years in the Cairngorms. Listener Ron Singh formed the band Kissmet, fusing Bhangra with Led Zeppelin, with his brothers, after being inspired by childhood visits to the family's Indian cinema in Peterborough. Cameraman Lindsay McCrae spent eleven months in the Antarctic filming Emperor penguins for the David Attenborough series Dynasties, which won him a BAFTA, but in doing so, missed the birth of his first child. He publishes the book, My Penguin Year. Jonathan Van Ness of Queer Eye and YouTube series Gay of Thrones, shares his Inheritance Tracks - You Gotta Be by Des'ree and Big Dream by Jazmine Sullivan.
Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Beverley Purcell
Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by the actor David Suchet who has been taking photographs since he was eight when his Fleet Street photographer grandfather passed on his knowledge. His new book Behind the Lens: My Life is a collection of David’s photographs.
Listener Kathryn Penny reports back from the 50th anniversary reunion of the Commonwealth Expedition which involved twenty coach loads of British students setting of for India.
'Serial innovator' Samantha Moyo wanted a break from her hedonistic lifestyle and organised the first Morning Gloryville 6am sober rave in 2013. They are now staged in 23 locations world wide.
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist Simon King on his lifelong weather obsession and new book What Does Rain Smell Like?
And we have the Inheritance Tracks of actor Kelly Macdonald who chooses You are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis and I Love You by Woodkid.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by travel documentary maker Simon Reeve who has come a long way since leaving school with no qualifications; he wrote a book on international terrorism and his latest series is on The Americas. Also, Kate Young who was homesick for her native Australia when she decided to cook a comforting dish described in Harry Potter. It led to more literary dishes, a blog and a book. Jeroen Olyslaegers is an award-winning author from Antwerp. His latest book Will was inspired by stories from his own family, in particular his Grandfather who was a Nazi collaborator during WWII. He joins us, along with Lucy Mathen who contacted us with her own extraordinary story - she was the first Asian reporter on Newsround, and went on to retrain as an ophthalmologist, founding a charity to treat eye problems in India. We have the Inheritance Tracks of TV stylist and presenter Gok Wan who chooses Top of the world by The Carpenters and Make your own kind of music performed by Cass Elliot.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Harry Connick Jr, was brought up by lawyers in New Orleans, but it was the music of the city that inspired him. A child prodigy playing a Beethoven concerto at nine, a disaster singing to Sinatra at 22, then Harry Met Sally happened, and It Had To Be You, made him a star. He He is now celebrating the genius of Cole Porter.
Paulette Constable grew up in Manchester, the youngest of eight children from a Windrush generation family. Following an early divorce, she became a club DJ in 1992, with residencies at The Hacienda, the Ministry of Sound, Heaven and Ibiza Rocks, but explains how family responsibility caught up with her and brought her home.
Rachael Rogan gave up a career in marketing when she was diagnosed with cancer. She describes how, following treatment and strong community support, she decided to make a radical change to her life and to follow her passion – children’s books.
Andrew Ridgeley - one half of Wham! recalls about meeting Georgios Kyiacos Panayiotou at school, discovering their shared passion for music, finding success and their enduring friendship.
Danny Wallace shares his Inheritance Tracks - Sunshine on Leith by The Proclaimers, and Live Forever by Oasis.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by the British crime writer Martina Cole, known to her fans as the Queen of Crime, with twenty-four novels to her name, fifteen of which have been No.1 bestsellers and translated into twenty-nine languages. Thomas Harding ran a local newspaper in West Virginia before returning to the UK to research his family history, which in one direction took him to his uncle Hanns, a Nazi hunter who tracked down the Auschwitz commandant, Rudolf Hoess. Now he has turned his attention to the other half of his family, who created the famous Lyons Corner Houses. Emily Chung co-founded, with her sister Amy, the pop-up Rangoon Sisters Burmese Supper Club between their shifts as doctors in the NHS. Justin Hawkins was a jingle writer and jobbing musician before forming rock band The Darkness. They had chart success with hits including I Believe in a Thing Called Love and Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) before the band disbanded in 2006. Five years later they reunited and have just released a new album Easter is Cancelled. Author and LGBT activist Armistead Maupin shares his Inheritance Tracks - Every Time We Say Goodbye by Cole Porter and sung by Ella Fitzgerald and Being Boring by Pet Shop Boys.
Producer: Annette Wells
Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by Gerald Scarfe, one of our best known artists, caricaturing those in power, and also a production designer for theatre, ballet and opera and designer of animation sequences for Disney's Hercules and Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Liam Charles was the people’s champion of Bake Off 2017, and the youngest contestant in that series. He went from cake sales at sixth form to having his own cookery show, and presenting Bake Off The Professionals within three years. Goldie Puricelli has taught kids with dyslexia, dyspraxia and autism, for over twenty years, she’s also a member of the Magic Circle and incorporates those skills into her teaching work. Helen Zaltzman was an early adopter of the podcast, launching the award winning comedy podcast Answer Me This! with Olly Mann in 2007. In 2015 she began The Allusionist linguistics podcast, which was immediately named iTunes UK's best new podcast. Helen gave up her flat and has spent the last two years touring the world with her live show in which she uses her love of language to unpick gender stereotypes, crime reporting and vegan restaurant menus. We have your thank yous and folk singer Shirley Collins chooses Fantasia on Greensleeves by Ralph Vaughn Williams and A Denying - The Blacksmith performed by Shirley And Dolly Collins
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles talk to former SAS soldier Andy McNab. He was captured in Iraq while leading the Bravo Two Zero mission in 1991. His book on his ordeal became a bestseller - his first of many. His latest book "Get Me Out Of Here" is aimed at young readers. Children's book illustrator Axel Scheffler has given visual form to Julia Donaldson's characters The Gruffalo, Stick Man, Room on the Broom, A Squash and a Squeeze and many more. But if you find the Gruffalo scary, be aware that Axel's original version was even more menacing. His latest books are "Kind" and "The Smeds and the Smoos" - two stories about tolerance and inclusivity. Veronica Thompson goes by the stage name Fancy Chance when she performs aerial burlesque while hanging from her hair. Her show Flights of Fancy explores ideas of beauty and her feelings of alienation at having been abandoned as a baby on the doorstep of a South Korean police station. Actor and comedian Roisin Conaty shares her Inheritance Tracks. And listener Emma Wyatt-Haines talks about overcoming serious spinal injury to compete in an Iron Man contest.
Presenters: Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles Producer: Paul Waters
Richard Ayoade became famous for playing Moss in the IT Crowd and went on to present Gadget Man, Travel Man and The Crystal Maze. He was nominated for a BAFTA for directing his first feature film Submarine and has directed music videos for Artic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend and Radiohead. Despite that, he describes himself primarily as a writer and his third book Ayoade on Top has just been published.
Choreographer, dancer and artistic director Kevin Turner was spotted for his talent as a child. However, as his career soared, his mental health suffered. He describes how he used dance to recover and now coaches other mentally ill people in how to use movement to heal.
When Isabel Vincent was in her 40s and living in New York, her friend Valerie suggested that she meet up with her 91 year-old father for dinner. To Isabel’s surprise they had an immediate spark and became best friends. She went to have dinner with him almost every week for five years until he died at 95-years old.
Actor Amanda Abbington became a national hero when, as Mary Watson, she took a bullet for Sherlock. Her new play, The Son, explores the domestic struggle of divorce and depression and she joins us in the studio.
And singer Marty Wilde shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein are joined by the actor Timothy Spall whose latest role is as LS Lowry. He describes his own passion for painting, the relationship between Lowry and his mother, and that with his own mother - who supported his acting ambitions. Footballer, Eniola Aluko won more than 100 caps for England. She explains how she started playing football on an estate in Birmingham as the only girl amongst a team of boys who named her Eddie. The pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason was spotted by Elton John and is now embarking on a brilliant career as a soloist and ensemble player. She describes life as the eldest of seven gifted musicians including brother Sheku who played at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The broadcaster, journalist and writer George Alagaiah, discusses his first thriller, which is set in post-apartheid South Africa from where he once reported. The actor and comedian Doon MacKichan shares her Inheritance Tracks - Parigi o Cara Ah Gran Dio, from La Traviata, performed by Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland and What Is and What Should Never Be by Led Zeppelin.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Kate Silverton and Luke Jones meet singer P.P. Arnold; artist Mackenzie Thorpe; poet Charly Cox and the Reverend Peter Allen. With Inheritance Tracks from conductor John Eliot Gardiner.
Soul singer P.P. - Pat - Arnold found her voice as a young girl singing gospel songs in church. Her career took off when she joined the Ikettes - backing singers and dancers for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. When the Revue arrived in London Pat -nicknamed P.P. by photographer Gered Mankowitz -became a fixture on the London music scene, collaborating with everyone from Rod Stewart to the Small Faces. Her new album The New Adventures of P.P. Arnold is out now.
This year Middlesbrough-born Mackenzie Thorpe celebrates 30 years as an artist. He is best known for his 'Square Sheep' series of works and 'Waiting for Me Dad' - a tribute to the men who worked in the industry of the area who crossed the town's transporter bridge to get to work and the families who waited for their return. He was the official artist for the Tour de Yorkshire 2019 and collectors of his work include the actor Tom Hardy, JK Rowling and Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth. Mackenzie Thorpe’s 30th year exhibition opens at his gallery, Arthaus, in Richmond, North Yorkshire on 14th September and his book, Out of the Shadows, is available now.
Charly Cox is a poet whose writing focuses on destigmatizing mental health and the coming-of-age of a young woman surviving the modern world. In January 2017 she published her first poem on Instagram; since then she’s raised money and awareness for charities which tackle mental health issues. Dubbed social media’s answer to Carol Ann Duffy, she is an ambassador for MQ Mental Health and was named by ELLE magazine as one of their 20 power players to watch out for in 2018. Her second book, Validate Me, is out in September.
Listener Reverend Peter Allen served as chaplain at Sheffield Wednesday Football Club and chaplain for Sport in the diocese of Sheffield. During this time he opened up brand new chaplaincies in a variety of sports in the region including volleyball, ice hockey and boxing. He talks about his life in the church and how a youthful misdemeanour came back to haunt him.
Conductor John Eliot Gardiner shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Paula McGinley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Skin from Skunk Anansie made headlines this summer when it was pointed out that she was the first black British artist to headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, not Stormzy. That was in 1999 and Skunk Anansie were five years into an incredible run of chart hits such as “Weak”, “Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)” and “Charity”. Skin discusses her childhood, her career and what it was like being the only black, gay woman in the 1990’s music scene.
Lisa Faulkner was scouted as a model at 16 before becoming an actor at the age of 20. She was well known for roles in Dangerfield, Brookside and Holby City before famously meeting a grisly end in Spooks. In 2010 she won Celebrity Masterchef, has since become a food writer and now co-presents John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen with her fiancé John Torode. She has published the memoir Meant To Be: My Journey to Motherhood which describes the death of her mother when Lisa was just 16 and her years navigating infertility, IVF and adoption.
Joel Golby’s book Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant: Modern Life as Interpreted by Someone Who is Reasonably Bad at Living It describes how the journalist, whose father died when he was 15, became an adult orphan at the age of 25 when his mother died. He talks about the impact of the sudden and unwelcome intrusion of adult responsibility into his otherwise hedonistic life.
Dr Dean Burnett is a neuroscientist, author and stand-up comedian. He wrote the international best -sellers The Idiot Brain and The Happy Brain. His new book for teenagers is called Why Your Parents Are Driving You Up The Wall and What To Do About It.
Game of Thrones author George RR Martin shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Eleanor Garland
Joe McFadden joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles. He started out in the detective series Taggart and went on to star in Take The High Road, The Crow Road, Heartbeat and Holby City. In 2017 he won Strictly, and he describes why he is donning sparkles again - to appear as Tick/Mitzi in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Gelong Thubten grew up in London and found himself in New York making a career as an actor. He explains how he ended up as a monk and a spiritual teacher, teaching meditation to clients including: the United Nations, Google, Her Majesty’s Prison Service, and the actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton. Victoria Nixon was spotted in Bond Street in London by the photographer Helmut Newton. She reminisces about working as an international model while grieving the loss of her entire family by the age of 24 – two by suicide. Colleen Blair became the first person to swim the Minch, the challenging stretch of water between the Inner Hebrides and the Scottish mainland. She also swam the English Channel when she was 20 and Loch Ness. She comes live from The Scottish National Open Water Championships at Loch Venachar. Professor Hugh Montgomery is a distinguished physician, known for his pioneering genetic research. He’s also climbed mountains, run ultra-marathons, and he holds the world record for playing a piano underwater. He reveals how he came to write a novel after a late night drinking session with Lynda La Plante. Susan Hill shares her Inheritance Tracks: The Sea Interludes from Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, and Mozart’s Oboe concerto 3rd movement played by Nicholas Daniel.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles are joined by the concert pianist and composer Stephen Hough. As an international performer he spends much of his life at airports, on planes and in hotel rooms and he talks about the thoughts and observations he has made during his travels which form his new book Rough Ideas. Cartoonist Michael Leunig explains how, after an unpromising start, he discovered he could draw and became Australia's 'national living treasure' thanks to his popular characters, Mr Curly, Vasco Pyjama and the Duck. Michael is appearing at the Greenbelt Festival in Northamptonshire later this month. Olivia Potts swapped a career as a criminal barrister to become a cook and food writer following the death of her mother. Baking became her comfort during this emotionally difficult time and her book A Half Baked Idea explores how going back to her mother's recipes helped her come to terms with her loss. Jackie Cornes tells the story of falling in love as a teenager and how she defied her disapproving parents and traveled half way across the world to follow her heart. And the playwright and director Stephen Poliakoff chooses his Inheritance Tracks: the Forsyte Saga theme by Eric Coates and Willow by Joan Armatrading.
Producer: Paula McGinley Editor: Richard Hooper
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the actor, writer and director Simon Callow. He discusses his stage and screen career and how he’ll be performing at the WAWA Weekender to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Wac Arts, a charity which empowers young people to change the world through the arts. Classical musician Hannah Rankin explains how the discipline of being a professional bassoonist has helped her to become the first female world boxing champion for Scotland at super-welterweight. Dave Goulson is Professor of Biological Science at the University of Sussex in Brighton and is a bumblebee expert, setting up the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Stand-up comedian Jayde Adams has worked as a fishmonger, doorwoman and Adele impersonator. She is taking her new show, The Ballad of Kylie Jenner’s Old Face to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. And the Benin singer Angelique Kidjo chooses her Inheritance Tracks: Quimbara by Celia Cruz and Fire on the Mountain by Asa. She is performing a BBC Late Night Proms: on 30th July, at the Royal Albert Hall.
Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Richard Hooper
Ainsley Harriott found fame as a chef on Ready Steady Cook, which he went on to present for ten years. He has since presented cookery programmes both here and in America and has sold over two million recipe books worldwide. In his latest book, Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen, he explores the way that the different historical and cultural influences on the Caribbean islands have created a diverse and varied cuisine. He joins Richard and Aasmah.
They are also joined by Petra Velzeboer who was born into The Children of God group. Petra cut ties with The Children of God when she became pregnant by a non-member at 23. Once Petra was outside, she initially struggled with alcoholism and serious mental health problems but she now has received a Master's degree, runs a successful business as a therapist and hosts a podcast in which she speaks with people who have overcome mental health issues.
And Ella Dove was 25 when she went for a jog with her sister on a quiet Sunday morning. She fell badly and assumed that she had broken her leg but was shocked to discover she had fractured her knee so badly that she would need to have her leg amputated. After months recovering from the operation in a wheelchair at her parents’ house, Ella finally was able to move back to her flat in London and resume her job as a journalist at women’s magazines. She is now publishing her first novel, Five Steps to Happy, about a young woman struggling to come to terms with a serious injury.
Producer: Laura Northedge Editor: Richard Hooper
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the former England cricketer and legendary spin bowler Graeme Swann. He discusses his sporting career, waltzing on Strictly and his upcoming tour with Henry Blofeld - Dancing Down the Wicket. Libby Liburd explains how her shows Muvahood and Fighter were inspired by her own personal life experience as a single mother and a female boxer. Christine Gould leads 50 volunteers at the Buxton Well Dressing Festival. She describes how these intricate mosaics of natural materials are painstakingly put together. Sarah Jane Douglas is an artist, and proud Munroist number 5864. She took up walking in the mountains after her mother’s death and scattered her ashes in the Himalayas. Guy Oliver reveals how a secret took him from a career with the Royal Navy to life as an interior designer – with projects from luxury hotels in Mayfair to adobe houses in Kabul. And the actor Michael Sheen chooses his Inheritance Tracks: O Superman by Laurie Anderson and A Design for Life by The Manic Street Preachers.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Fresh from a neuroscience degree, she burst into our consciousness almost ten years ago with her club anthem track Heaven, and then Read all About it with Professor Green. She was the only artist to perform at the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2012 London Olympics. Writing for other artists as well as a successful solo career, she is back with a new single and tour and album to follow. Emeli Sandé joins Richard and Aasmah.
They also have Juliet Blaxland, who lives on the easternmost part of England, in a house - known as the Easternmost house - which is slowly getting closer and closer to the sea. Mindful of the end of her life in the house, Juliet wrote a diary of a year in this changing landscape.
Lee John Phillips is drawing and logging every item of his late Grandfather's shed. He tells us about his extraordinary project.
Alan Johnson grew up with a passion for music, and dreamed of becoming a rock star, but ended up joining the Post Office. He got involved with the Union of Post Office workers, and became their youngest ever general secretary in 1992. Five years later he became the Member of Parliament for Hull West and Hessle and later served in the Blair and Brown governments as work and pensions secretary, Trade and Industry Secretary, Education Secretary, Health Secretary and Home Secretary.
And the Inheritance Tracks of Cricketer David Gower who chooses Tchaikovsky: 5th Symphony, 4th movement Andante Maestoso and Candle in the Wind by Elton John.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Tony Blackburn talks to Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles about spending over 50 years as a DJ. He is still working for 4 radio stations, plus touring his Sounds Of The 60s show. Starting at Radio Caroline, the presenter opened Radio 1 and other career highlights include winning I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Listener Red Szell shares his story of getting back into rock climbing after he lost his sight. Mary Hastings explains why her cancer diagnosis gave her the confidence to pursue her passion for singing. Luke Goss shares his Inheritance Tracks: U2, Where The Streets Have No Name and Bob Marley, One Love. Matt Pritchard talks about his journey from Dirty Sanchez stuntman to Dirty Vegan ultra-endurance athlete.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Beverley Purcell
The filmmaker Gurinder Chadha – of Bend it Like Beckham fame - joins Rev. Richard Coles and Luke Jones. She continues her exploration of Britain and India’s intertwined story, this time in late 18th Century Delhi. She also shares her love for Bruce Springsteen songs and the joys of hot tubs.
Morris dancer cum morris milliner, Carole Jeffery, talks to us enroute to the National Morris Weekend in Evesham.
Academic and pigeon fancier Jon Day describes his passion, the parallels with parenting and notions of home.
Listener Caroline Greville-Morris recalls making pop videos, designing pirate shirts for Adam Ant and being rescued by Kylie.
And journalist Poorna Bell talks about her search for silence after the death of her husband, strengthening her strengthening her relationship with her parents and finding mental strength through powerlifting.
Sir Michael Caine Shares his Inheritance Tracks: - My Old Man’s a Dustman, Lonnie Donegan and Comme D’habitude, Claude Francois.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell
Benjamin Zephaniah talks to Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles about the origins of his passion for rhyme, music and country living. Marian Newman went from being a forensic scientist to a nail expert whose career highlights include the supermodel nails for the Olympics 2012 Closing Ceremony. A clip of Daniel Alston and his sisters appeared on the Radio 4 programme Rewinder - they recall their memories of Blue Peter coming round to tea. Former World Karate Champion Janice Francis-Irwin on the importance of martial arts and organising Caribbean tea parties. Professor Alice Roberts shares her Inheritance Tracks: A Whiter Shade Of Pale by Procol Harum and Ash, Girl from Mars. Writer Gabriel Bisset-Smith grew up in the 80’s, looking white but having a mixed-race mum. He talks about the impact this had and why drama school saved him.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Beverley Purcell
Richard and Aasmah are joined by: Jo Brand, in comedy for over 30 years, trailblazing the way with her edgy humour at a time when there were very few women in standup. She came to comedy from psychiatric nursing and a strict upbringing. Listener and retired accountant Peter Barratt grew up hearing stories about his Great Grandmother Alice Hawkins who was a suffragette. 15 years ago he researched her story and has since completed 500 talks, including at Parliament and he now has one of the most complete collections of suffragette memorabilia in the UK still with descendants. Brought up in a strict religious household Lohani Noor ran away from home aged 15 and ended up in care, which is where her drive and ability to smash stereotypes began - she was a professional bodybuilder, trained as a plumber and now she is a TV psychotherapist. Matthew Walker is a renowned sleep scientist. Originally from Liverpool, his fascination with sleep has taken him from Nottingham University to Harvard and on to the University of California, Berkeley, where he is currently Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology and Director of the Centre for Human Sleep Science. Tractor Fest is the largest outdoor Tractor Festival in the UK. This year it has a 1940s theme, with displays of vintage tractors from the era, including the Fordson N: ‘the tractor that won the war’ and was widely used by the RAF for plane towing, as well as by the Women’s Land Army. Kevin Watson, restorer of more than 20 vintage tractors joins us from there. Singer Bryn Terfel chooses his Inheritance Tracks - Hen Wlad fy Nhadau by James James and Eli Jenkin's Prayer from Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas, music by AHD Troyte performed by Dunvant Male Voice Choir.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Beverley Purcell
Guest presenters Shaun Keaveny and Kate Silverton are joined by Anneka Rice. She reveals the story of Clemmie Hart, her fictional agent. Matthew Barley, the internationally renowned cellist, describes how a skiing accident transformed the way he plays. On the 50th anniversary of the John Lennon and Yoko’s Bed-In For Peace in Montreal, Saturday Live listener Gail Renard recalls her front row seat at rock and roll history. Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar winning filmmaker and husband to Tom Daley, talks about fatherhood and how growing up in a strict Mormon household shaped his determination to fight prejudice. And Paul Young shares his Inheritance Tracks. He chooses The Yellow Rose of Texas by Mitch Miller and These Arms of Mine by Otis Redding.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell
Arlene Phillips talks to presenters Aasmah Mir and Luke Jones about her life and career, which includes choreographing Elton John and founding dance troupe Hot Gossip. Björn Again's founder and Agnetha talk about their life on and off stage. Johnboy Smith explains how an unexpected injury led to him becoming a successful wheelchair racer. Greg James shares his Inheritance Tracks: This is The Sea by The Waterboys and Apply Some Pressure by Maximo Park. Eline van der Velden is a comedian and scientist - whose experiments often involve putting herself through socially awkward situations.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Beverley Purcell
Richard and Aasmah are joined by Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE, who began pursuing a pop career but drama took over with TV and theatre roles. As a writer, his first play won an award and his second transferred to the West End, he’s curated a World Festival of Black Arts and had an artistic directorship in Baltimore. Now he has been appointed Artistic Director of the Young Vic theatre in London. Caroline Crampton grew up sailing with her family at every opportunity, but it's only since a recent trip to sail down the Thames Estuary with her family that she got to really love it. Candice Brathwaite is a parenting blogger, Influencer and founder of Make Motherhood Diverse – an online initiative that aims to encourage a more accurately representative and diverse depiction of motherhood in the media. Edd China, mechanic on TV's Wheeler Dealers and the creator of numerous obscure vehicles including a road legal sofa. He has set Guinness World Records for the fastest furniture, shed, bathroom and bed, largest motorised shopping trolley and fastest electric amphibious vehicle and electric ice cream van. And as well as your thank yous, we have the Inheritance Tracks of Francis Rossi of Status Quo. He chooses the Everley Brothers’ Cathy’s Clown, and In the Army now by Bolland and Bolland.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Beverley Purcell
David Harewood – actor, snowboarder, Brummie, goalie – joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles. Best known for roles in Homeland, Blood Diamond, The Night Manager and currently Supergirl, he reveals why he has now made a documentary called ‘Psychosis and Me’.
Saturday Live listener Sarah Wyndham Lewis explains why she became a honey sommelier. A calling all the more remarkable because she is allergic to bee stings.
Blogger Laura Belbin describes what the sound of laughter means to her.
Sindhu Vee started her career as a banker, but an email set her on the path to stand-up comedy.
Dr Ranj Singh cast aside his scrubs for sequins for Strictly last year. He talks about his newly found passion for Latin dance and why, having struggled with his weight as a child, he's keen to promote healthy eating.
Jodie Kidd shares her Inheritance Tracks: Money for Nothing performed by Dire Straits and No Woman No Cry, by Bob Marley.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Richard Hooper
Gok Wan talks to Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles about his latest show Say Yes to the Dress Lancashire, DJ’ing, cooking and his lifelong passion for fashion. Listener Hilary Wynter talks about her experience playing doubles with the Empress of Japan, the wife of the Emperor who has just abdicated. As it's the 4th May - Star Wars Day - we have Star Wars superfan Michael Absalom. Singer-songwriter Nick Lowe shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen Fatback Louisiana USA, by Tennessee Ernie Ford and Harlan County by Jim Ford. Pet Detective Colin Butcher – has just written a book about his working relationship with his rescue dog Molly – the UK (and Europe’s) only cat detection dog.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Beverley Purcell
Richard and Aasmah are joined by Dame Stephanie Shirley who arrived in the UK aged 5 as a refugee on the Kindertransport. She became a ground breaking IT entrepreneur who has since become a philanthropist and given over £60 million away. Her son inspired her to set up a school for children with Autism, and fund vital research. We also have Duff McKagan who joined Guns N' Roses as bass player aged 19 but only just survived the rock 'n' roll lifestyle. He battled addiction by taking up martial arts and studied accountancy, writing books and his own music as well as touring again with the band. and Libby Page, who enjoyed water as a child but had become fearful of donning a swimsuit in her teens. She finally faced her fears and learnt to swim in her 20s and has discovered the meditative and therapeutic benefits of swimming, in particular, outdoors and it helped her get a publishing deal. and Paul Jacobs, a listener whose wife got in touch with us. A PE teacher in the same school for 29 years, he was voted Melton Mowbray’s sports personality of year 2016, and uses sport to inspire young people. We heard how he would “run a marathon, drive home and do the ironing”, so we had to meet him. TV presenter June Sarpong gives us her inheritance tracks which are Superwoman by Stevie Wonder and Love Train performed by The O'Jays. Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Beverley Purcell
Patti Boulaye is a British-Nigerian singer, actress and artist. She recalls coming to London aged 16, and appearing on the west end stage in shows from HAIR to Carmen Jones, and talks about her new one woman show Aretha and Me.
Creative movement director and choreographer Yami ‘Rowdy’ Lofvenberg won the UK Hip Hop Championships in 2010, and worked on the London 2012 opening ceremony. She was adopted from Colombia and grew up in Sweden, and she describes the difficulties growing up and returning to her birthplace.
Landscape designer Adam Frost started his career with an apprenticeship with North Devon Parks Department. He has won seven Gold Medals at the Chelsea Flower Show and he explains how to build a garden from scratch.
Christopher Somerville has written about his favourite cathedrals. He describes how his fascination with these great structures started while visiting Wells Cathedral at the age of six.
Presented by Aasmah Mir and Luke Jones.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell
Photographer, publisher and film director Rankin joins Rev. Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir. He talks about swapping accountancy for photography, his career which includes photographing the Queen in 5 minutes, and the impact of having a child. Celebrating Record Store Day – we have Ashli Todd - owner of world’s oldest record store, Spillers in Cardiff. Journalist Babita Sharma recalls her experiences growing up in a corner shop. Alistair McGowan shares his Inheritance Tracks: Poem by Fibich performed by Alistair McGowan and Narcissus by Joyce Grenfell and Norman Wisdom. Writer and presenter Danny Wallace discusses family life, why he’s proud of ‘Join Me’ and random acts of kindness.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Beverley Purcell
Ben Elton is co-writer of The Young Ones and Blackadder, a bestselling novelist, playwright, director and writer of Upstart Crow. He talks about his new and timely novel about identity, politics, middle age and murder; his life as a semi-Australian empty-nester, and why he’s about to embark on his first UK stand up tour in 15 years.
The shortest shepherd in England, Sally Urwin, reveals why she gave up her city life as a marketing manager to work on a sheep farm in Northumberland and the joys and challenges of the lambing season.
Listener Chris Lockwood recalls playing football the unofficial England women’s team at the 1971 World Cup in Mexico – at the age of 16.
Matt Bateman is playing in the British Quidditch Cup this weekend. He explains the game, his position as “beater”, and the difference between The Quaffle, Bludgers and The Snitch.
Andy Bell, best known as frontman for the electropop duo Erasure, describes his life growing up in Peterborough with darts playing parents, how he likes to challenge his voice, and his alter-ego Torsten.
Singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti shares his Inheritance Tracks - Forever Young sung by Joan Baez, and Kathy’s Song by Simon and Garfunkel.
Presented by the Rev. Richard Coles and Suzy Klein.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell.
Singer-songwriter and Great British Menu guest judge Keisha Buchanan talks to Rev. Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir about finding success as a teenager in Sugababes, a band which had six number one singles and two number one albums in the UK.
Lamin Deen talks about his duel career as a Grenadier Guard and GB bobsleigh Olympian.
We launch My Sound, a new feature where we ask you to tell us about a sound that means something to you. Tim Eagling explains why the sound of his car is significant.
Forager John Wright reveals what we should be looking out for in April and how you can find wild food in cities as well as the country.
Line of Duty actor Adrian Dunbar shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen Hear My Song Violetta, performed by Josef Locke and A Hard Day’s Night by The Beatles.
Alice Plunkett is a former jockey and three-day eventer who is now an ITV Racing presenter. Alice is the only woman to have ridden at both Badminton Horse Trials and the Grand National course at Aintree. She talks about the risks and rewards of racing.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by the milliner Stephen Jones whose passion for hats has led him from the catwalks of Dior to the Brighton Pavillion, the adventurer and extreme sleeper Phoebe Smith who sends people to sleep with her travel stories, historian David Olusoga whose TV programme explores the lives of all the people who lived in one house in Newcastle and Saturday Live listener, the crochetdermist Shauna Richardson whose creations include animal versions of Boris Johnson and Prince Harry and whose worked graced the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. We also have the Inheritance Tracks of comedian Gina Yashere who chooses Dancing Queen by Abba and Back to Life by Soul II Soul And listener Rosie Humphreys tells us about her mother's dress.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Choirmaster Gareth Malone describes working with pupils from Kensington Aldridge Academy to help them create a concert to mark the return to their school building next to Grenfell Tower. Listener Rev'd Alan Dodds recalls his life before ordination - playing guitar in a band with David Bowie. Mya-Rose Craig, aka 'birdgirl', has seen 5,000 species of bird and explains how she spends her weekends bird ringing. Jane Hasell-McCosh reveals some of the strange varieties of marmalade at the Marmalade Awards and Festival in Cumbria. Saxophonist and MOBO winner YolanDa Brown on racing driving and her search for emerging young musical talent. And the Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick shares his Inheritance Tracks - Stairway to Heaven performed by Led Zeppelin and One by U2.
Presented by Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Best-selling singer-songwriter Dido on her new album Still On My Mind, fame, life growing up and working with her brother. Wendy Gould and John Sandford talk about being reunited after many years – Wendy was taken from her parents’ front garden and dumped on the side of the road 20 miles from her home and John was the man who found her. Jerick Hoffer talks about creating alter ego Jinkx Monsoon – and becoming the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, season 5. Comedian Al Murray shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen Come Together by The Beatles and Follow You Follow Me by Genesis. The actor, writer and director Noel Clarke (Dr Who, Brotherhood, Bulletproof) is starring in new film Fisherman’s Friends, about the Cornish fisherman’s choir who got a record deal. He discusses the impact of being an only child and wanting to act from a young age.
Presented by Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles. Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Richard and Aasmah are joined by Jo Malone CBE, who left school aged 15 with no qualifications and became a scent supremo and one of the UKs best known entrepreneurs. We also have comedian aka 'Badman' Humza Arshad who made his success online, took it mainstream and has written his first children's book: Little Badman and the Killer Aunties. There is Ishbel Holmes whose difficult upbringing prompted her, aged 21, to cycle the world rescuing street dogs and Saturday Live listener Catherine Spencer who, as a holidaymaker, got caught up in a coup in Kenya and Robin Moffitt talks about how to rescue bats. Plus: the Inheritance Tracks of Shakin' Stevens who chooses Brother Can You Spare A Dime performed by Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance and We’ll Meet Again performed by Johnny Cash.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles are joined by the writer Dame Jacqueline Wilson. She discusses her heroine Tracy Beaker who is now grown up with a daughter of her own and why she prefers writing for children to adults.
Steve Bland talks about his late wife Rachael, the journalist and broadcaster who co-presented You, Me and the Big C, an inspiring podcast about living with cancer. The podcast tackled her illness with courage and humour and changed our thinking about the disease. Before her death last year Rachael wrote a moving memoir for her young son Freddie.
Born in Beirut, comedian Nemr Abour Nassar grew up in San Diego before returning to Lebanon. His stand-up routine addresses the differences between US and Lebanese culture and, closer to home, he pokes fun at his Arab family and their traditions.
Julia Lee is the first female rugby league referee. She fell in love with the game when she was a child and when she was 17 she applied to become an official. She talks about being a woman in a man's world and the new play Ref! - a fictionalised account of her life.
With Inheritance Tracks from former designer and sculptor Nicole Farhi. She chooses Kol Nidrei sung by Cantor Yitz Meir Helfgot and Casta Diva sung by Maria Callas from the opera Norma by Bellini.
Producer: Paula McGinley. Editor: Beverley Purcell
The actor Shane Richie, star of East Enders talks about his latest role, in the West End show ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’. Chelcee Grimes describes how she combines her two careers, playing for Fulham Ladies and writing songs for the Grammy Award winner Dua Lipa and Kylie amongst others. Bethan Roberts grew up in the House of Elvis – not Graceland – but with a mum who loved The King so much that she had memorabilia and posters all over the house. Dr Jon Copley is a marine biologist and scientific advisor for the BBC series, Blue Planet. He explains his fascination with our oceans, what it feels like to explore them. And Dave Gorman shares his Inheritance Tracks. He chooses: When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman performed by Dr Hook; and Reasons to be Cheerful by Ian Dury and The Blockheads.
Presented by Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: John Goudie.
Aasmah and Richard are joined by: Patrick Grant - he bought and revived a failing tailors in Savile Row in 2005, since then he’s been awarded Menswear designer at the British Fashion Awards, become a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee and promotes sustainable fashion. Adam Kay used to be a junior doctor, and left to become a writer and comedian. His book This is Going to Hurt was based on diaries written as a junior doctor, exposed the highs and lows of the job and became a bestseller. Nichola McAvoy lost her hair age 11 and will tell us how finding a friend who also had alopecia was invaluable to her. Jess Herbert left her job as a trilingual assistant and retrained as an aborist - she's since won tree climbing competitions. We'll have your thank you and the Inheritance tracks of composer Mark Anthony Turnage who chooses Stravinsky's ‘The Fairy’s kiss’ conducted by Oliver Knussen with the Cleveland orchestra, and Miles Davis' ‘Blue in Green’.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Scientist and broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili shares his experience of growing up in Iraq, his passion for music and his first novel, which will be published in April. Eboni Beckford-Chambers talks about combining a career in law with being an England netball player. As the new Biggin Hill Memorial Museum opens today, Geoff Greensmith recalls his childhood growing in the area during WW II. Listener Stephen 'Abs' Wisdom explains how Robin Hood inspired his career; and playwright and actress Natasha Gordon shares her Inheritance Tracks. She has chosen Midnight Train to Georgia sung by Gladys Knight & the Pips and Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla. Author Kimberley Chambers reveals how she became a bestselling author after deciding that life as a mini-cab driver wasn't for her.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
The actress, Brenda Blethyn, star of Vera; Monisha Rajesh recounts travelling around the world by train; Mo Gawdat on his happiness algorithm, and rugby international James Haskell shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Brenda Blethyn, star of Vera, recalls working for British Rail, before launching her acting career. Mo Gawdat, Former Chief Business Officer, Google (X), explains his algorithm for happiness and how it helped him after the death of his son Ali. Saturday Live listener, Deborah Gould, shares her love of skydiving. Monisha Rajesh describes her 45,000 mile journey around the globe on 80 trains. And Harry Bibring recalls his escape from Vienna on the Kindertransport. And rugby international James Haskell shares his Inheritance Tracks. He chooses Billie Jean performed by Michael Jackson and Wagon Wheel performed by Darius Rucker.
Presented by Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Trevor Nelson talks about how he became one of the country's leading R&B DJs; pigeon fancier Ian Evans sets the scene from The British Homing World Show of the Year in Blackpoool. Man Like Mobeen star and creator Guz Khan, who until recently was a Humanities teacher in the Midlands. Sharon D. Clarke shares her Inheritance Tracks. She has chosen Sweet Jamaica by Clancy Eccles and What’s Goin’ On by Marvin Gaye. Anatomist, author and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts discusses her career and how she digs the UK with a spade and a campervan.
Presented by Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Konnie Huq are joined by Dame Kelly Holmes, double gold winner at the Athens Olympics in 2004. She talks about her life in the army, pursuing her dream of becoming an Olympian and adjusting to life after retiring from athletics.
Jacquie Davis is one of the world's top female bodyguards. During her career she has protected royals and celebrities, rescued hostages and carried out undercover surveillance. She talks about the qualities required for the job and the power of being a chameleon.
The Reverend Ravi Holy was ordained in 2005 after turning his back on his previous life as a dissolute youth. He is also a stand-up comedian and explains how the comedy gets them laughing in the aisles.
Jasper Winn is writer in residence for the Canal and River Trust who advocates slow travel - taking time to appreciate the world around us as an antidote to our busy, high tech lives.
Marion Grave, owner of the Laurel and Hardy Museum in Ulverston, talks about the magic of their partnership and her favourite objects among the exhibits.
With Inheritance Tracks from musician Rick Wakeman. He chooses Woodman, Spare That Tree by Phil Harris and Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.
Producer: Paula McGinley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Mobeen Azhar are joined by the actor and TV presenter Bradley Walsh. Currently starring in Doctor Who, he talks about going on a father and son road trip in the US, where he was pushed to his limits with cowboy training and sky diving! Former professional footballer and teacher, Len Johnrose, describes his small victories, silver linings and making the most of living with motor-neurone disease. Gary Budd is a chimney sweep and also the founder, head coach and chief coxswain of The Pilot Gig Club in Lewes, East Sussex. He explains why he started the club and how it’s brought the community together. Julia Georgallis gives advice on how to eat your Christmas Tree. She turns hers into everything from fir jam, spruce ice-cream, pine smoked cauliflower and juniper gin! And supermodel and petrolhead turned pub landlady, Jodie Kidd, describes turning 40 and how she’s now living a healthier, more anchored life. With Inheritance Tracks from Simon Williams. He chooses: I Whistle a Happy Tune from The King and I and Lullabye, sung by Billy Joel.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by Gabrielle, THE pop star of the 90s – inspiring lyrics, cool image, intriguing eye patch, hit after hit, and then she went quiet. After time out as a mum of two she has just released her first album for 11 years, and she is back. Will Farmer’s life seems only to exist on a summer’s day surrounded by beautiful objects in the garden of an English stately home, for he is an expert on Antiques Roadshow. He’s joining us in the midst of winter to talk about auctioneering and his passion for the past. Emma Rosen spent a year trying 25 careers before turning 25 including: archaeology in Transylvania; being an extra in a major movie; alpaca farming in Cornwall and assisting a crisis team during the terror attack on Parliament in March 2017. Emma now works as a writer and speaker, focusing on millennials in the workforce. Saturday Live listener Gary Horrocks joins us to talk about being a fan of Judy Garland – he heads the international fan club. JP meets Philip Pittack and Martin White who run the last surviving Spitalfields cloth merchants. and Brian Conley tells us his inheritance tracks. He chooses Elvis Presley performing Jailhouse Rock and Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons performing Who Loves You.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
David Gower talks about his life in cricket and how spending his early years in Africa inspired his passion for wildlife. Anne Atkins has been inspired to write about her son Alex, who has Asperger's. They discuss their relationship and how Alex has learnt how to read people. Clive Collins explains why Christmas trees are so important to him. Singer Lily Allen shares her Inheritance Tracks - she has chosen I’m Always on a Mountain When I Fall, performed by Merle Haggard and Fix You by Coldplay. And from the courtroom to the kitchen- Nisha Katona tells her story.
Presented by Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles. Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
The comedian and actor Hugh Dennis talks about being the son of a Bishop and his latest role in The Messiah. Former nurse, Christie Watson, recalls lessons of kindness and hospital Christmasses. Listener Stephanie Bouckley shares her Thank You story pegged to the 30th anniversary of the Lockerbie disaster. JP Devlin meets Arthur Spencer, a former teacher and WWII navigator, who has been recognised with the award of a Legion d’honneur from the French government. Jan Blake describes the timeless appeal of storytelling and her first visit to her grandmother in Jamaica. Firefighter Gary Bankhead explains how he became an amateur underwater archaeologist, finding gold and silver from Durham Cathedral in the Wear. He is now an expert on lead cloth seals. And Eric Idle chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Here Comes the Sun by George Harrison; and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Prue Leith has been in our cooking consciousness for years but her appointment as a judge on TV's bake off has exposed her culinary expertise to a whole new audience and inspired a new cook book. She joins Richard and Aasmah along with: Marianne Power who was such a fan of self-help she decided to follow a book a month for a year. She joins us to reflect on her journey of self discovery. Former professional footballer Cherno Samba was tipped to be a superstar in UK football but whilst his career stalled he became a legend on computer game Championship Manager. Now training to be a coach, he tell us what happened. Clare Norburn sings medieval carols with her group The Telling – she’s going to tell us how the first carols were not to do with Christmas… JP meets Rob in Bridgend who has been helped out of homelessness by The Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin in the Field’s and Inheritance Tracks from Tim Rice who chooses You Did It, from My Fair Lady, with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and with God On Our Side, written by Bob Dylan and performed by Manfred Mann.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Slade guitarist Dave Hill; Young People’s Laureate for London Momtaza Mehri; Listener Mary Diggory takes JP Devlin back to the woods that gave her sanctuary; Shona Davies on finding love as she sailed around the world. Joanne Froggatt shares her Inheritance Tracks: Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush and Proud Mary performed by Ike and Tina Turner. Dr Xand van Tulleken talks about combining medicine and presenting, with his twin brother.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Comedian and writer Sandi Toksvig, former armed robber turned triathlete John McAvoy and bubble enthusiast, Dr. Helen Czerski and harmonica fan Ben Hewlett. With the Inheritance Tracks of Richard Blackwood.
Sandi Toksvig joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev.Richard Coles, to talk about being a national “Trevor”, adapting Treasure Island, why baking makes her emotional, and honeymooning in the Arctic. Helen Czerski, expert in the physics of bubbles, has just returned from a trip to the High Arctic. She explains how learning to ice a cake is just as much about physics as arc welding. John McAvoy describes how he turned himself from an armed robber into a triathlete thanks to the sports faculties of HMP Belmarsh and an epiphany. JP Devlin hears from the members of Sands United, a football team made up of bereaved fathers. Ben Hewett, Chairman of Harmonica UK, demonstrates how the Blues Brothers changed his life. With Inheritance Tracks from the actor and comedian Richard Blackwood. He chooses Mama Used to Say by Junior and Don’t you Worry ‘bout a Thing, Stevie Wonder.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Stephen Fry joins Richard and Aasmah to talk about Greek Heroes and finding wedded bliss. We also have JoJo Wood who extolls the virtue of wood carving for mental health, and Dr Catherine Walker, a septuagenarian weightlifter and academic at Oxford university, and Bisi Alimi who is a LGBTQ rights campaigner and the first person to come out as gay on national TV in Nigeria. We have your thank you and broadcaster and writer Jenni Murray chooses her inheritance tracks: The Blue Danube by Strauss and Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Michael Palin talks with Rev. Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir about travelling in the footsteps of a ship, Erebus, that went missing in the late 1840s and was only re-discovered in 2014. He also discusses the special relationship with his fellow Monty Pythons. Dani Crilly tells the story of the horse who she says saved her life. Vee Walker talks to us from Bavay in France, which was liberated by Vee’s grandfather Major Tom Westmacott in 1918. Beatboxer and composer Jason Singh explains how he works and why he appreciates sound.
Matt Baker will take a short break from the CIN Rickshaw Challenge to speak to us. Nana Mouskouri shares her Inheritance Tracks - she has chosen Suzanne by Leonard Cohen and Love is a Losing Game by Amy Winehouse. And Martin Impey whose life and career changed when he completed a promise made to his grandmother, to find his great uncle who never returned from WW1.
Erebus by Michael Palin is out now. Vee Walker – Major Tom’s War is out now. Nana Moukouri’s latest Album ‘Forever Young’ is out now. Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum est – Illustrated by Martin Impey is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Actor Tamsin Greig, quizzer and barrister Shaun Wallace, explorer Aldo Kane, RAF trauma nurse Sadie Melling and "Chabuddy G". With Stephen Mangan's Inheritance Tracks. Presented by Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles.
Tamsin Greig is Olivier Award winner, an Aldridge of Borsetshire, Malvolia in a Twelfth Night, and a keen trampolinist. She describes how her love of movement is being constrained in her current roles in Pinter 3 as part of the Pinter Season.
Shaun Wallace aka “The Dark Destroyer” recalls his route to becoming a barrister and how he created a parallel career as a master of the TV quiz. Tom Harding Assinder is taken on a tour of Hounslow with star of People Just Do Nothing’s Chabuddy G.
RAF trauma nurse Sadie Melling has just returned from Sydney, where she formed part of The British Invictus Games Team.
Former Commando Aldo Kane recalls his living in an active volcano and reveals how spending 10 days in isolation in a nuclear bunker affected his body clock.
With Inheritance Tracks Stephen Mangan. He chooses: I Recall a Gypsy Woman, performed by Don Williams and Who Knows Where the Time Goes?, performed by Fairport Convention.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by comedian Marcus Brigstocke, who reveals why he has a red painted head and blue horns for his first character-driven stand up show. Jodi Ann Bickley explains why she writes lovely letters to strangers in need – about 4,000 so far. After 65 years working at Waterloo Station, Don Buckley is thought to be Britain’s longest-serving railway worker. He enjoys helping people around the station and is so popular with passengers that one of them, Bernadette Porteous, wrote to tell us all about him. JP Devlin has been to meet him. Dan Aylward travelled to Lesotho as an economic advisor and ‘accidentally’ set up its national rugby squad. Carla Valentine’s interest in death and mystery began in childhood with reading Agatha Christie novels. She describes her role as a Mortician and Technical Curator at Bart’s Pathology Museum in London, where she looks after some 5,000 artefacts. The American Jazz singer and saxophonist Curtis Stigers chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Rikki Don’t Lose That Number by Steely Dan and Something To Love by Jason Isbell.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland
Comedian and writer Adam Hills is also the host of Channel 4's taboo busting comedy satire The Last Leg. He joins Richard and Aasmah along with:
Georgina Lawton who grew up thinking she was white like her parents, then she found out about her black heritage.
Claire de Lune is a ceramicist who recently found that her family had been working with clay for 700 years.
And composer Shirley J Thompson on how modern history inspires her work.
We have your thank you and the inheritance tracks of Manfred Mann's Paul Jones who chooses My Babe performed by Little Walter and Come Sunday performed by Mahalia Jackson with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles are joined in the Saturday Live studio by stand-up comedian Bridget Christie, digital artist and mental health campaigner Kirsty Latoya, milkman Ian Beardwell and etymologist Paul Anthony Jones, the author of Around the World in 80 Words.
We also hear the Inheritance Tracks of dancer and choreographer Akram Khan - Mera Joota Hai Japani by Raj Kapoor & Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel.
Presenters: Aasmah Mir & Rev Richard Coles Producer: Paul Waters
Former England football player and manager Kevin Keegan made his professional debut fifty years ago. He talks to Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles about how a nun was his first mentor, the way Bill Shankly changed his life and seizing opportunities off the pitch.
Christel Dee is a Dr Who fan - also known as a Whovian - whose life and career has been shaped by the show.
British Olympian Archer Patrick Huston got in touch to tell us about the woman who inspired him to take up the sport.
Fashion Designer Zandra Rhodes shares her Inheritance Tracks. She has chosen Boléro by Maurice Ravel The Pearl Fishers’ Duet by Georges Bizet.
Romesh Ranganathan left his teaching career to pursue a career in comedy. He talks about the pressure to support his family, staying in the town of his birth and love of Hip Hop.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland.
She can dance, she can sing, she can ice skate and act in gritty London based soap EastEnders: all round showbiz star Bonnie Langford joins us to talk about her show business career spanning 5 decades and her return to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane where it all began aged 7.
Aged 15 George Green was a talented footballer and signed by Everton. Money and success at such a young age led him to drug and alcohol abuse, and 4 years later he was let go. He joins us to tell his story of pulling himself back from the brink.
Previous Shed of the year winner Joel Bird extolls the virtues of carpentry for mindfulness.
Karen Gibson shot to worldwide fame after she appeared conducting The Kingdom Choir at this year's Royal Wedding of Harry and Meghan. She joins us to talk about career highlights which also include singing for Nelson Mandela.
Farmer and Countryfile presenter Adam Henson chooses The Strangler’s Golden Brown and Live on Mars by David Bowie and we have a listener's Thank you.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Coming live from Stirling, Coast presenter and archaeologist Neil Oliver talks about his love of the British Isles; writer, musician and journalist Doug Johnstone takes time out from Stirling's Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival. Comedian and You-Tuber Bachala Mbunzama, better known as Bash the Entertainer, talks about his journey from the Congo to Glasgow. Orkney folk musicians Fara will be performing. Ken Bruce shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen I’ve Got You Under My Skin sung by Frank Sinatra and I’ll See You In My Dreams sung by Joe Brown. Singer Amy Macdonald shares her career highlights and love of tattoos and dogs.
Presented by Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland
Legendary keyboard player Rick Wakeman is known for his huge contribution to prog rock with the band Yes, his own innovative compositions, his flamboyant caped stage presence and his numerous piano arrangements.
Bea Priestley is a 22 year-old wrestler in the ever growing woman’s wrestling scene. Bea got back into wrestling after brain surgery when she was 18 and now tours the UK and Japan.
Eric Monkman and Bobby Seagull bonded over quizzing. They both found themselves internet sensations after appearing on different teams on University Challenge. They've just done a round Britain fact finding road trip but will join us in the studio.
Listener Heather Sinclair Buchanan got in touch to talk about her 30 year hunt for a stolen dolls house and the tragic loss of her son for whom she founded Olly's Friendship Foundation. She's still looking for the dolls house - it's pictured below so please get in touch if you can help.
Ray Winstone chooses his inheritance tracks: the track he inherits is Smile performed by Nat King Cole and he passes on I'm forever blowing bubbles performed by Dean Martin.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland
Conversation from comedian Susan Calman, Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones aka The Black Farmer and about Simon's Cat. Naga Munchetty shares her Inheritance Tracks. Presented by Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles.
Comedian and actress Susan Calman explains why she gave up a successful career in corporate law for stand-up, she shares her memories of Strictly Come Dancing and reveals her love of cats. Simon Tofield, creator of Simon's Cat, recalls how the animation went viral. Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, best known as The Black Farmer, describes what drew him to farming, and why he champions jeopardy and taking risks. Last year Saturday Live listener Philippa O'Sullivan, a complete sailing novice, set off on a Clipper round the world sailing trip. After 45,000 miles and 11 months at sea, she talks about her inspiring adventure. JP Devlin meets Saturday Live listener Bob Gerrard. He recollects his teenage years growing up in care, getting into minor scrapes as a teenager and speaks fondly of the policewoman who kept an eye out for him. Superfan John Wood is unveiling a bench in memorial to musician's musician, Nicky Hopkins today. He tells us why and explains why he wants to create more memorials for unsung heroes. BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty chooses her Inheritance Tracks - Ain't Got No, I Got Life, Nina Simone and Sign O' The Times, Prince.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Maggie Aderin-Pocock on her love of the moon and Nigerian heritage; Ali Payne tweeted to try and find the inscribed copy of Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist given to her by her late husband. She continues her search on Saturday Live. Celebrating 30 years of marriage, The Alarm's Mike and Jules Peters discuss working together and dealing with individual cancer diagnoses. Rehana Popal is the first practising female Afghan at the Bar. Coming to the UK as a refugee when she was five, Rehana talks about her path to law. Helen Lederer shares her Inheritance Tracks: Que Sera Sera and All I Want by Joni Mitchell. Ann Cleeves talks about remote living and writing the final book in her Shetland series.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Singer songwriter Jim Kerr of Simple Minds talks about his love of walking in deserts and mountains, sustaining friendships over decades and his pop career.
Atoosa Sepehr shares recipes from her cook book Persian Kitchen - authentic recipes and fabulous flavours from Iran - and talks about growing up in Iran & Italy.
Nigerian crime fiction writer Leye Adenle reveals how "sunshine noir" authors are fighting back against the dominance of Nordic Noir.
Gold medal-winning wheelchair dance duo Paula Moulton & Gary Lyness discuss their partnership representing Britain in international competition and how they're encouraging others to take up the activity for prestige and pleasure.
We check in with a chilli-eating contest. And TV presenter & musician Loyd Grossman shares his Inheritance Tracks - Ragtime Cowboy Joe & You Really Got Me by The Kinks.
Presenters: Aasmah Mir & Suzy Klein Producer: Paul Waters.
We're live from the YMCA Theatre in Scarborough with Sir Michael Parkinson, folk legend Martin Carthy, surfer Tori Gower and Jennifer Dunne on the exhibition the Ancient Seas of the Yorkshire Coast. With Inheritance Tracks from Kiki Dee.
Sir Michael Parkinson talks about his early life in Yorkshire, happy memories of holidays in Scarborough, his passion for cricket and forthcoming tour - An Evening With Sir Michael Parkinson.
Jennifer Dunne is Collections Manager, Scarborough Museums Trust. She describes the Rotunda Museum's new exhibition for the Scarborough's Dinosaur coast, which includes a recently discovered fossilized Walrus skull.
Tori Gower discovered surfing while on a visit to Scarborough and stayed. She's now a qualified surf instructor and RNLI beach lifeguard in Scarborough. When she's not in the water, she's usually painting - she's created seascapes as well as surfboard art.
Ben Davis is running some 470 miles around Yorkshire. He set off on Yorkshire Day 1 August and he finishes in Scarborough today. He describes the journey and benefits of running for his mental health - and his weight.
Folk legend Martin Carthy performs live, including a new arrangement of Scarborough Fair. He recalls his family's musical roots, his acting ambitions and what brought him to the area.
Kiki Dee shares her Inheritance Tracks - Some of Your Lovin by Dusty Springfield and Calling All Angels, Jane Siberry.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, Kim Wilde's inheritance tracks, Bryony Gordon on staying sober and running, the Urban birder David Lindo and Thames plastic picking cyclist Dhruv Boruah join Rev Richard Coles and Suzy Klein.
Mark-Anthony Turnage is one of the most admired and widely-performed composers of his generation whose operas include Anna Nicole and Coraline. He'll be talking about why he likes to mix pop culture into classical and provoke a response from his audiences.
Former corporate guy Dhruv Boruah likes a challenge, the more he can learn the better - he learnt to drive so he could drive an ambulance to Mongolia, learnt to swim so he could join an ocean race and he made a bike on which he cycled the Thames from source to sea to pick up rubbish and started The Thames Project. He joins us to discuss his motivations.
David Lindo aka The Urban Birder, is a naturalist, writer, broadcaster and photographer. His obsession with birds began from a young age, when he first started noticing the birds from his window growing up in Wembley, North London. Since then he's been birding round urban environments from Newcastle to New York.
Bryony Gordon has been a Telegraph writer and columnist since her teens, often writing about her own life. More recently she has become a mental health campaigner, given up alcohol and run two marathons.
Listener Wendy Chalk gives her thank you and we'll hear from Nicky White from the Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival (11th - 19th August).
Kim Wilde tells us her inheritance tracks - she chooses Anyone who had a heart performed by Cilla Black and Everything put together falls apart by Paul Simon.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Shaun Keaveny and Sonali Shah are joined by Rylan Clark-Neal who found fame as a contestant on the X-Factor in 2012. He subsequently won Celebrity Big Brother in 2013 and is now a presenter on programmes including This Morning and Big Brother's Bit on the Side. Paralympian David Smith won gold at Rio in 2016. He explains what it takes to be a Boccia champion. Mary Ellis discovered scything and has since been successful in competitions and is keen to share her knowledge. Dale Vince is a green industrialist, has a record breaking electric car and turned his local football team, Forest Green Rovers, vegan.
Gyles Brandreth shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold singing 'I Remember It Well' from the film Gigi AND 'Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear' by Scooter and Fozzie Bear from The Muppets.
Gyles Brandreth is performing his show Break a Leg! at the Edinburgh Festival until 26th August. The World Boccia Championships runs from the 12th August 2018 - 18th August 2018 in Liverpool.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Beverley Purcell.
Conversation from the actor Stephen Mangan, pop-up beach organiser Scott Barton, nanotechnologist Dr. Michelle Dickinson, and The Madonna of Bolton - Matt Cain. With Orla Kiely's Inheritance Tracks. Presented by Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles.
The actor Stephen Mangan talks about his hair, his 52 cousins and his new Channel 4 series Hang Ups! in which he plays a therapist, who has his own therapist. Sean Randell shares his story of Thanks, to the couple who fostered him before he was adopted. Scott Barton organises pop up urban beaches around the country. He describes what's happening today in Northfield, Birmingham; and we find out why he was once Lady Mayoress of Sheffield! Dr. Michelle Dickinson - aka Nanogirl - is a nanotechnologist who shares her passion for nanobots, and reveals her Chicken in a Cup experiment. JP Devlin meets Catherine Geddes who explains why she became homeless and how she transformed her life, helping other youngsters in the process. Matt Cain - aka The Madonna of Bolton - on growing up gay in Bolton in the 1980s. He describes how Madonna's music and videos inspired him, and her fierce determination to succeed gave him the confidence to do the same - and to find his own voice. And the designer Orla Kiely chooses her Inheritance Tracks - Night and Day by Cole Porter and 7 seconds by Youssou n'dour & Neneh Cherry.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell.
Mark Gatiss talks about return of The League of Gentlemen, his passion for painting, and why he's drawn to the artist John Minton. Joining him are history teacher and performance poet Jaspreet Kaur, Francoise Malby-Anthony, who runs a game reserve which she set up with her late husband 'Elephant Whisperer' Laurence Anthony; and thriller and Batman writer Gregg Hurwitz.
Robert Winston is Chairman of the Genesis Research Trust, which campaigns to improve IVF and increase funding for research into infertility and baby loss. He shares his Inheritance Tracks ahead of the 40th anniversary of the first IVF baby. He has chosen the second movement from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Edouard van Remoortel and the opening of J S Bach's Christmas Oratorio, recorded by the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conducted by Stephen Layton.
Reporter JP Devlin has been out to speak to the people of Hadfield, the filming location for The League of Gentlemen.
Mark Gatiss' documentary John Minton: The Lost Man of British Art will be on BBC Four in mid August. The League of Gentlemen Tour has 50 dates all over the UK and starts on August 6 in Barnstaple.
Francoise Malby-Anthony's book An Elephant In My Kitchen is published on 26 July.
Presenters Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles Producer Claire Bartleet.
Conversation from the Journalist Robert Peston, stand up comedian Darren Harriott, teacher Vanessa Tissington, Wimbledon obsessive Ben Chatfield and Butterfly Ambassador, Kate Bradbury. With Chris Difford's Inheritance Tracks. Presented by Konnie Huq and the Rev. Richard Coles.
Robert Peston talks about his late father, his family's social mobility and his passion for organising speakers in schools.
Teacher, Vanessa Tissington, recalls the year she spent turning around the secondary school in St Helena.
Darren Harriott is a security guard turned stand up comedian. He describes how he became involved in a gang, before being saved by drama.
Ben Chatfield first queued for Wimbledon in 1984 and went on to queue there regularly for 30 years. He talks about the sense of camaraderie and why he became known as 'Barrier Boy'.
Kate Bradbury is the Garden Ambassador for Butterflies Conservation, a gardener and writer. She explains her passion for wildlife and how the regenerative power of nature helped her during her mother's brain-haemorrhage.
And Chris Difford shares his Inheritance Tracks: Happy Jack by The Who and You've Got A Friend by Carole King.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles host and perform with opera star Bryn Terfel. He's appearing in the title role in Falstaff at the Royal Opera House.
Edwina "IronGran" Brocklesby, tells how she took up marathons, triathlons and Iron Man racing in her 50s. She's still going strong at 75 and wants to spread the message that exercise helps physical and mental health whatever your age.
BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner talks about his latest thriller, Ultimatum, set in Iran.
Rai Rafiq tells how she came from Zanzibar as a child, to become co-host of one of the UK's most respected podcasts - Mostly Lit.
And to mark the start of Wimbledon fortnight, Judy Murray shares the track she inherited and the song she'll pass on to the next generation in Inheritance Tracks.
Also: Edwina Brocklesby's grandmother - Nan - cooked for Winston and Clementine Churchill at No 10 Downing Street during World War Two. Her mousseline pudding was almost the death of her and Britain's wartime leader during the Blitz. We want to hear stories about your grandmother - inspiring, heroic or just funny. EMAIL saturdaylive@bbc.co.uk TWEET #bbcsaturdaylive TEXT: 84844 (Texts will be charged at your standard message rate. Check with your network provider for exact costs.)
PRESENTERS: Aasmah Mir & Rev Richard Coles PRODUCER: Paul Waters.
Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny with athlete and presenter Kriss Akabusi, singer Kim Appleby, writer Steven Camden, teacher Abed Ahmed and author Ben Okri.
Sporting legend Kriss Akabusi still holds the British record for the 400m Hurdles. He gets philosophical about the different sides to his personality, discusses school sports participation and reflects on his career.
Abed Ahmed is a teacher with a stammer at the same school he attended as a student. He runs stammer support sessions in his school. He's also been nominated for a New Teacher of the Year award.
JP Devlin has been to Ascot to speak to people as they head to the races
Kim Appleby had hits including Respectable and Showing Out as a member of pop duo Mel and Kim, with her sister who sadly died at the height of their fame in 1990. Kim has gone on to chair the contemporary panel of the Ivor Novello Awards and has recently returned to the stage. She also shares her experiences of having a childhood stammer with Abed.
Writer and performer Steven Camden, also known as Polarbear, performs in the studio, shares his love of Birmingham and talks about his latest book Nobody Real, his third YA novel. Steven also inspired Shaun to write his first poem- which he recites.
Poet and novelist Ben Okri shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen (Sittin' on The) Dock of the Bay by Otis Reading and 'Pastorale' from Scenes from Nigeria by Samuel Akpabot, performed by Marcus Eley with Lucerne DeSa.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland.
With Aasmah Mir and guest presenter Konnie Huq are trumpeter Alison Balsom OBE, cycling blogger Jools Walker, self taught Fungi expert Geoff Dann and Joanne Barton who went from teenage alcoholism to becoming a doctor in A&E.
Alison Balsom is having a break from travelling the world playing virtuoso trumpet in a new role as Artistic Director of the Cheltenham Music Festival;
Jools Walker is a cycling blogger whose passion for two wheels has proved so infectious she has been able to blog full time;
Geoff Dann's childhood in the North Downs inspired a life long interest in foraging, particularly for fungi. Self taught, he's survived to pass on some of his knowledge to us;
Joanne Barton started drinking as a teenager after she experienced problems at home. Drug use followed, and she dropped out of school. In her late teens she managed to change her path and got a job which led to working in the care sector and inspired her to return to education and now she is an A&E doctor.
JP meets listener Roger Wilson-Hinds who sings the praises of his Dad this Father's day weekend.
We have the inheritance tracks of Quadrophenia actor Phil Daniels who chose Nature's Way by Spirit and I'm One by the Who.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Guests include actor and stand up comedian Richard Blackwood, Little Britain star Matt Lucas, fashion commentator and football obsessive Simon Doonan, and American Football player Phoebe Schecter.
Richard Blackwood talks about his early rise to fame and bankruptcy, before playing the donkey in Shrek the Musical and moving on to straight acting roles.
Matt Lucas, began his career as a giant baby playing the drums and went on to success with Little Britain wearing a fat suits for the character of Bubbles De Vere. He describes his passion for musicals and for Arsenal FC.
Simon Doonan loves football and fashion in equal measure. He is the Creative Ambassador for Barney's New York. He's dressed the White House for Christmas under the Obama administration. And he's a Reading FC fan who has flown from New York to see them play.
Phoebe Schecter plays for and Captains Great Britain's Women's American Football team. She led them to the final of the 2015 European Championships, where they won silver, and she was the first British woman to coach in the NFL when she worked with Buffalo Bills.
And Jo Wood shares her Inheritance Tracks - Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba, and Stray Cat Blues by The Rolling Stones.
Presented by Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles.
Produced by Louise Corley Edited by Eleanor Garland.
With Rev. Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir,
David Coulthard talks about his Formula 1 career and life after racing. Listener Kate got in touch to tell us how writing helped her on the way to recovery from anorexia. JP Devlin meets song and dance man Movin' Melvin Brown; Whitney Brown explains how she went from being an academic in America to dry stone walling in Wales. Opera star Willard White shares his Inheritance Tracks: Smile by Nat King Cole and Bach's Prelude No. 1. Adnan Sarwar is a former British soldier who has just returned to Iraq to explore how the country has changed.
David Coulthard's The Winning Formula: Leadership, Strategy and Motivation the F1 Way is out now. Movin' Melvin Brown is performing his show Chuck Berry Lives and running the workshop Dancing with the Star - Movin with Melvin at the Brighton Fringe till the 3rd June. Whitney Brown's Between Stone and Sky: Memoirs of a Walker is out now. Part one of Adnan Sarwar's documentary Journey in the Danger Zone: Iraq goes out on BBC Two on Sunday, 3rd June, at 8pm. Willard White is performing in Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House in London from 29th June until 17th July.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland.
With Rev. Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir,
John Torode on MasterChef and how travel has inspired his cooking, Simon Mayo shares his Inheritance Tracks, Milad Shadrooh reveals how he became The Singing Dentist, psychologist Janina Scarlet on how superheroes changed her life and enabled her to help others.
Mandy Coppin breaks off from organising the largest number of light aircraft to fly the River Tyne, plus JP Devlin meets listener and Tetbury WoolSack Racer Lucy Collins.
John Torode's book Sydney To Seoul: Recipes from my travels in Australia and the Far East is out on the 31st May. Fly The Tyne is happening from around 1.30pm on 26th May. The Tetbury WoolSack Races is on Bank Holiday Monday. Simon Mayo chose The Nightmare Song 'Love unrequited robs me of my rest' from Iolanthe by Gilbert and Sullivan and Graceland by Paul Simon. Janina Scarlet's book Therapy Quest is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland.
The adventurer and explorer Benedict Allen joins Konnie Huq and the Rev. Richard Coles. He explains why he returned to Papua New Guinea to visit a community he'd befriended 30 years earlier, why he doesn't take modern technology with him, but does travel with postcards of The Queen. As Manchester United prepare to meet Chelsea in the Cup Final later today, JP Devlin is in conversation with its former number seven - Eric Cantona. Rugby coach Ben Ryan describes how he took the Fijian Sevens to Olympic Gold in Rio 2016 and was made a Chief by a grateful nation. And it was a romantic game of two halves for Helen Bellany, so taken with the painter John Bellany she married him not once but twice. Listener Carol Worwood shares her Thank You story from the Royal Wedding Day in 1981. Tim Eagling describes his family's morning - taking part in an immersive scare event in a disused shopping mall. And the poet Imtiaz Dharker reveals her Inheritance Tracks - Babu Samjho Ishare from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, sung by Kishore Kumar; and Heroes by David Bowie.
Benedict Allen is touring from June 2018 with the Ultimate Explorer Tour. My Notebook by Eric Cantona is out now. The Restless Wave, My Two Lives with John Bellany, by Helen Bellany. Luck is the Hook by Imtiaz Dharker. Sevens Heaven by Ben Ryan is published on 31st May.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
With Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson for parents, Eliza Carthy was unlikely to do anything else, but her enthusiasm, research and skill in arranging, writing and performing along with 2 Mercury Music Prize nominations has enabled her to fly the flag for folk music in England. She'll be playing live in the studio to Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny and talking about her latest album with her mother.
Radio 4 Listener and architect Toby Carr has set himself the challenge of sea kayaking to all the locations in the shipping forecast. We ask him how, why and what has led him to such a complicated challenge!
We're also joined by Martyn Waites, ex actor and stand-up comedian, now a crime-writer who has written under his own name and also the female pseudonym of Tania Carver.
Susannah Walker is a design historian who has written a book about her mother's hoarding, the extent of which was discovered after her death. She joins us to talk about the significance of 'things' and the stories behind them.
JP Devlin meets Brian Blessed and talks mainly about his beard.
Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Child in Time by Deep Purple and Fire by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy's album is called Anchor Martyn Waites' book The Old Religion is out on 14th June Brian Blessed's book is called The Panther In My Kitchen: My Wild Life With Animals Susannah Walker's book is Life of Stuff.
Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles are joined by poet Pam Ayres, who talks about her passion on hedgehogs, her time in the WRAF and the everyday events that have inspired her more recent poems.
Liz O'Riordan is a breast cancer surgeon, who has had breast cancer herself. She describes how this experience has changed her bedside manner and inspired her 'Jar of Joy'.
JP Devlin meets Saturday Live listener, foundling Peter Lindley, who recalls his search for identity.
The fireman and fire investigation officer, Paul Osborne, is partnered with Sherlock, a five year old a Cocker Spaniel with a nose for sniffing out ignitable liquids.
Leee John, Singer/songwriter with the group Imagination on his falsetto, his new single Police and Thieves, and his documentary to go with it, which reflects his strong sense of community and the area he grew up in in north London.
The actor, Stephen McGann, shares his Inheritance Tracks. He chooses (I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo by Glenn Miller and Within You and Without You by The Beatles.
The Last Hedgehog by Pam Ayres, is out now. Sherlock The Fire Brigade Dog by Paul Osborne, is out now. Police and Thieves by Imagination feat. Leee John from the Retropia album. Peter Lindley has written the story of his search for his identity in 'Please Look After Billy'
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Sir Tim Rice talks to Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles about bringing the musical Chess back to the West End. He also reflects on his career, love of cricket and performing himself.
Listener Talitha MacKenzie got in touch and is appearing on the programme to talk about her love of historical costumes and dance.
Robyn Hollingworth left her life in London and returned home to rural South Wales when her dad was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. She's just published the frank diary she kept from this time.
Spinal Tap's Derek Smalls (the alter ego of Harry Shearer) talks to JP Devlin.
Gail Porter shares her Inheritance Tracks. She has chosen Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd and When Doves Cry by Prince.
Cook and food writer Diana Henry talks about how her recipes and menus have been influenced by her childhood, travels and experiences.
Chess is at the London Coliseum until Saturday 2nd June.
My Mad Dad: The Diary of an Unravelling Mind by Robyn Hollingworth is out now
Derek Smalls' album Smalls Change is out now.
How To Eat a Peach by Diana Henry is out now.
Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by history obsessive Dr Lucy Worsley, whose mission is to make history accessible: she writes books for adults and children, she presents TV documentaries, often dressing up as historical characters to further tell their tales, and she is also Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces. Her latest book is about Jane Austen, who, Lucy says, was one of the most important Georgians.
Brian Conley might be best known as the host of his eponymous show, but he's played lead roles in musicals such as Me and My Girl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Hairspray, Oliver!, The Music Man, Barnum and Jolson for which he was nominated for a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award. He's presented the Royal Variety Performance on eight occasions and appeared on TV shows such as The Grimleys and Time after Time and recorded three albums. He joins us in the middle of his latest tour: 'Still the Greatest Entertainer in His Price Range'.
Elizabeth Noble is a writer of fiction who mourns the demise of the letter. She has kept letters from parents, lovers, and children and finds them not only treasures in themselves but also with content even more revealing years later.
Listener Neil Rushton contacted us about a hobby of his - ice water swimming, which he does in a club run by Pauline Barker, who is the UK Country Ambassador for the International Ice Swimming Association. She joins us to talk about swimming in zero temperatures.
JP Devlin goes to Sheffield in search of the Record collector store for Record Store Day.
Samuel West chooses his Inheritance Tracks - Dory Previn's Play it again Sam and Matt Bianco's Get out of your lazy bed.
'Jane Austen at Home' and 'Lady Mary', are both by Lucy Worsley Brian Conley's show 'Still the Greatest Entertainer in his Price Range' is touring the UK until June Brian Conley's new TV series starts 16th April on Channel 4 'Buy it now' Elizabeth Noble's latest novel is 'Letters to Iris'.
Presented by Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles.
Andy Hamilton earned his comedy stripes at Cambridge, in the university's Light Entertainment Society, and has written and performed for a number of radio and television programmes from I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and Drop the Dead Donkey, to QI, to Old Harry's Game, and the award winning Outnumbered. He discusses how he manages change.
Delia El-Hosayny recalls her 30 years as a bouncer, during which time such was stabbed, shot at and delivered a baby in a nightclub toilet.
Saturday Live listener John Simmons shares his family story. His parents temporarily 'adopted', Jesus, a child refugee from the Spanish Civil War. John later researched the story of the 4,000 children who came to the UK from Spain and found out what happened to Jesus and his sister when they returned home.
JP Devlin meets Ricky Valance - the 1960s star from a Welsh mining community who had a No.1 hit with the song Tell Laura I Love Her.
Historian Dr. Laura King describes her latest work around objects and testimony from families and various communities in Leeds, which has culminated in the exhibition Remembrance.
And Robert Peston chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Beethoven's Opus 131, and Still Crazy After All These Years by Paul Simon.
Andy Hamilton's tour Change Management runs from 21 May - 10 June. Spanish Crossings by John Simmons, is out now in paperback. Remembrance runs at the Abbey House museum in Leeds until December 2018. Robert Peston's book WTF is published by Hodder.
Alesha Dixon tells us about her career as singer, songwriter, author and Britain's Got Talent judge.
Christian Donlan describes living with multiple sclerosis.
Rev Andrew Rawding served as a British soldier in Coalisland, County Tyrone and has since returned there as rector.
Hannah Wright recalls her childhood behind prison walls.
Inheritance Tracks - John Gordon Sinclair chooses I Love You Because by Jim Reeves and the title track from Aladdin Sane by David Bowie.
Lightning Girl by Alesha Dixon is published by Scholastic. The Unmapped Mind by Christian Donlan is published by Viking. Outside Time: A Personal History of Prison Farming by Dr Hannah Wright is published by Placewise.
Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein talk to stand-up comedian Arthur Smith about his new act examining his father Syd's experiences in World War Two and as a police constable. Syd fought in north Africa, was in an Italian POW camp, was forced to work in mines in Germany and ended up in Colditz, where he was liberated by the US army.
Nell Gifford rejected an academic career to run away to the circus. She loved it so much she founded her own. As Giffords Circus gears up for the summer season, Nell takes us behind the scenes and into the ring.
Opera star Brindley Sherratt was born into a Salvation Army family in Lancashire. He originally wanted to be a trumpet player, but his bass voice was too good to ignore. He wants the rest of the world to appreciate how good singing can be for your physical and mental health.
Shepherds Holly & Hannah Jackson don't come from an agricultural family, but their love of nature led them to start a sheep farm in Cumbria. They had to strap on their skies to rescue sheep stranded in the recent heavy snow. We join the sisters as lambing season gets underway - their most exciting time of the year.
Presenters: Aasmah Mir & Suzy Klein Producer: Paul Waters.
Alexandra Burke reveals the life events that have inspired the songs on her new album.
Raynor Winn was made bankrupt and lost her home, just as her husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness. They embarked on the journey of their lifetime - to walk the South West Coast Path, the 630-mile. sea-swept trail from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall. She discusses the impact of this on their outlook on life and ideas of home.
The archaeologist and historian, Jules Hudson, describes his fascination with walled gardens.
Saturday Live listener Darren Townsend-Handscomb grew up as the child of a Deaf parent. He went on to become a sign language interpreter, which has taken him to some rather unusual situations, including signing at an exorcism for a Deaf poltergeist. He's about to travel to the Gambia to train sign language interpreters.
David Morrissey shares his Inheritance Tracks: She's Leaving Home by The Beatles and Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) by Baz Luhrmann.
The Truth Is by Alexandra Burke is out now. And she starts a UK tour on 1 September. The Salt Path by Raynor Winn is out now. Walled Gardens by Jules Hudson is out now. David Morrissey is appearing in Julius Caesar at The Bridge Theatre in London until 15 April, 2018.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Kim Wilde joins presenters Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles. She sold ten million albums, and after retiring, having a family and then a successful gardening career, has returned to the stage. She has a new album out and is about to embark on her first UK tour for 30 years.
We also have Helen Tse who is a lawyer, writer and restaurateur whose book about her family story, Sweet Mandarin - also the name of her restaurant - has been turned into a play about to open at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.
Lutalo Muhammad is a British taekwondo athlete who represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal, and the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal. He won the Gold medal in the -87 kg class at the 2012 European Taekwondo Championships.
John Connell is a writer and a farmer. Farming has been in his family for generations but he never intended to follow in his father's footsteps. He followed the academic route, going to study in Australia, becoming a documentary maker and then to Canada, but he ended up finding his way back to the family farm in County Longford, Ireland and began to learn the ways of the farmer and the way of the cow.
We have the inheritance tracks of cricket commentator Henry Blofeld who chooses Tit Willow from the Mikado and Bring in the Clowns by Barbra Streisand.
And we'll speak to Dr Nic Rowley, one of four sports doctors are taking part in a Sport Relief challenge. They are attempting to cycle the height of Everest (29,400 feet).
Kim Wilde's album Here Come the Aliens is out now, and her tour of the same name starts 30 March.
Mountains: The Dreams Of Lily Kwok is on at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. The first night is 22nd March in Manchester and then it goes on tour from 18th April to 2nd June.
The Cow Book by John Connell is out now.
Over and Out by Henry Blofeld is out now and he is touring theatres with a brand new show, 78 Retired.
Richard Coles and Suzy Klein are joined by presenter and author Katie Piper. In 2008, she survived a horrific acid attack that left her blind in one eye and required more than 200 operations. Putting the attack behind her, she launched the Katie Piper Foundation in 2009 to aid people who'd suffered similar burns and scarring. She is set to travel the country with a new Tour: What's In My Head.
British ski champion turned Olympic commentator and Ski Sunday presenter Chemmy Alcott joins us to talk Olympics, injury and motherhood.
Listener Clive England always knew he was adopted, but until last October he wasn't sure who his birth family were. After some careful research, he tracked down them down and spent two weeks travelling across America to meet with them.
Cross stitch traditionally conjures up images of neat samplers, pretty cottages and cute puppy dogs until you look on social media and see the diverse range of attitudes, taste and subversion going on in the genre. Unofficial cross stitch spokesperson, Mr X stitch aka Jamie Chalmers, joins us to tell us about this online revolution.
Cleo Laine and her daughter Jacqui Dankworth talk to reporter Anna Bailey about their singing careers.
We have the inheritance tracks of broadcaster Jeremy Vine who chooses Old Comrades, The Band of HM Royal Marines and Elvis Costello's Lipstick Vogue.
Katie Piper is touring the UK with What's In My Head. From Mother to Daughter: The Things I'd Tell My Child by Katie Piper with her mum Dianne out now. Jacqui Dankworth is on tour now.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland.
The conductor, Charles Hazlewood, believes in making music inclusive, from projects fusing five Grime MC's with the BBC Concert Orchestra to founding the world's first paraorchestra, inspired by his daughter Eliza. He presents a two-part series on BBC Four - Tones, Drones and Arpeggios: The Magic of Minimalism.
Lulah Ellender has written Elisabeth's Lists. Part memoir, part family history, part exploration of a life through lists, inspired by Elisabeth, the grandmother she never knew.
Cassidy Little is a former ballet dancer and Royal Marine Commando, who lost his lower right leg in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2011. He has since won 'The People's Strictly' in 2015; and is about to star in the play Soldier On which opens at the Playground Theatre in London on 13 March.
Today is the seventh annual World Pasty Championships. Vanessa Farr from Bristol, won the Cornish Pasty Amateur section last year. She explains what makes a winning pasty.
The novelist and broadcaster Fern Britton talks about her recent health scare, her latest novel Coming Home and forthcoming acting role in Calendar Girls the Musical.
And classical crossover artist, Russell Watson, shares his Inheritance Tracks: Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo and You are So Beautiful, sung by Joe Cocker.
Tones, Drones and Arpeggios: The Magic of Minimalism is on BBC Four on Friday 9 March at 9pm. Russell Watson and his Orchestra are currently on tour around the country with the show Canzoni d'Amore.
Debbie McGee tells us about her time on Strictly, how she needs to keep busy and life two years after the death of her husband, Paul Daniels. Joe Cushnan's father walked out on his family, never to return or make any contact. Joe is now trying to find out about the life his father subsequently embarked on. Rosamund Thorpe is sure she has Scottish blood and knows where it came from. Peter Lovatt aka Dr Dance tells us how dance helped him learn to read and go on to have a career as a dance academic. Composer Debbie Wiseman chooses her Inheritance Tracks - I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing by The New Seekers and Chopin's Nocturne in E Flat Major, Opus 9 No 2.
Debbie McGee will be appearing on The Pilgrimage on BBC 2 over Easter. Peter Lovatt's Boogie on the Brain Tour takes place in April, June and July. Debbie Wiseman's new album, The Glorious Garden, a collaboration with gardener and writer Alan Titchmarsh, is out on 2 March.
The actor and producer Greg Wise is brother of Clare Wise, who died of cancer in 2016. Greg has co-written a book about how he and Clare dealt with her illness - the appointments, the hair loss, the chemo, the showers... and the cat, Grably. Jess French is a zoologist, naturalist and entomologist and presents CBeebies Minibeast Adventure with Jess. Her passion for scorpions and tarantulas began while helping her dad with his exotic invertebrate-breeding business and often acted as animal handler when he supplied them for TV shows. Jess Robinson came from a musical family and trained as a classical singer. She explains how she got waylaid by impressions and vocal gymnastics, and ran away to join the circus. She has since performed at the Edinburgh Festival and reached the semi-final of Britain's Got Talent. Spencer Conway, English teacher, decided at forty-two to abandon The Canterbury Tales and make his own epic pilgrimage to Africa, which he circumnavigated on a motorbike. He has done the same in South America, a journey from which he's just returned. He talks about crashing in the salt flats in Bolivia and being stung by a killer wasp. Joanna Trollope chooses her Inheritance Tracks La Mer by Charles Trenet and Mythical Kings and Iguanas by Dory Previn.
Not That Kind of Love, by Clare & Greg Wise is published on 22 February. Minibeasts with Jess French is published on 8 March. Jess Robinson's tour Here Come The Girls starts in Glasgow on 1 March and culminates on 29 April in Birmingham. Joanna Trollope's latest novel An Unsuitable Match is published on 22 February.
Dame Evelyn Glennie tells presenters Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles about her mission to find new ways to help people really listen. She blazed a trail as the world's first professional solo percussionist, having become profoundly deaf at the age of 12. When she's not touring internationally, there's little she likes better than getting out her trusty metal detector and going searching for buried treasure.
Max Beesley was no stranger to showbiz glamour even before he became a TV star, having played drums onstage with Robbie Williams, Stevie Wonder and The Jam. But he was inspired by Robert De Niro to make the switch to acting. He's starred in series like Suits and Hotel Babylon, and is back on screen playing the rugged Harry Sharrow in the second series of Jamestown - which has been described as a Jacobean western.
Jordanian-Irish singer songwriter Keeva explains how she copes with anxiety and depression while putting her life into song and performing on stage. She also pulls pints in a bar, and draws artistic inspiration from her customers' personal dramas. Have a listen to see if you recognise yourself.
Storyteller Matt Hopwood shares love stories he gathered while walking from Lindisfarne in Northumberland to Callanish on the Isle of Lewis. During his 500 mile journey across Scotland, Matt relied on the kindness of strangers for food and shelter. His mission was to listen, and the tales he heard of love for partner, friend, family and place are collected in his book, A Human Love Story - Journeys to the Heart.
We also hear Martin McCutcheon's Inheritance Tracks, and take a icy dip with some chilly open water swimmers at Bardowie.
Presenters: Aasmah Mir & Rev Richard Coles Producer: Paul Waters.
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the actress Jenny Agutter who plays Sister Julienne in Call the Midwife. She recalls her time living in Hollywood and reveals her passion for rap. Before being called to the bar, Tony Kent was a heavyweight amateur boxer. As a criminal defence lawyer he's defended high profile clients including Anthony Joshua. He has now written his first novel - Killer Intent. JP Devlin meets Madeleine Neave to discover why she set up the Antique Breadboard Museum at her home in Putney, London. Adam Golightly, best known for his column The Widower of the Parish, describes how he's sewed ribbons on to ballet slippers, taken up stained glass window making and his introduction to internet dating. Mehreen Baig is a former teacher and now a blogger and reporter who appeared in the reality show Muslims Like Us. And Suzi Quatro chooses her Inheritance Tracks: God Bless the Child by Billie Holliday and Try and Little Tenderness by Otis Reading.
Call the Midwife is on BBC One on Sundays at 8pm. Killer Intent by Tony Kent is out now. Being Adam Golightly - One Man's bumpy voyage to the other side of grief, is published on 8 February. Mehreen Baig: Islam, Women and Me is on BBC1 on Tuesday at 10.45.
Jo Wood's first foray into the public eye was as a popular newspaper's "Face of 1972" aged 17. After 5 years working as a model she met Ronnie Wood and spent the next 30 years living the whirlwind rock and roll lifestyle of the Rolling Stones until her marriage came to an abrupt end. She has since reinvented herself, promoting an organic lifestyle and her passion for interiors and fashion. She joins Aasmah and Richard in the studio.
We also have Mollie Hughes, a climber who became the youngest woman in the world to scale both the north and south sides of Mount Everest.
Marcellus Baz won BBC Sport Unsung Hero award 2016 for his work in breaking the cycle of crime via boxing at his school in Nottingham.
And actor Jim Carter, best known for playing butler Carson in Downton Abbey. He's interviewing other actors in a series at the Tricycle Theatre.
We have the Inheritance Tracks of legendary DJ Tony Blackburn, who chooses Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson and I'm Still Waiting by Diana Ross
And for Holocaust Memorial Day, JP meets listener Veronica who talks about a special piece of clothing she has that belonged to the Grandmother she never met.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Broadcaster and author Dan Snow is the history guy - from first appearing on our screens with the 60th Anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein, with dad Peter to numerous other documentaries including the Rise of the Royal Navy, Battlefield Britain series and a documentary about his great great grandfather, former Prime Minister, Lloyd George. Alan Fell is Head of Props at the Royal Shakespeare Company - from severed heads to an armoured tank - creating weird stuff is part of the fun of his job. Louise Groves lost her parents and brother before she was sixteen and was placed in a foster family. She found the experience so positive, she became a foster parent herself and has fostered 48 children. Cookery writer Sumayya Usmani was a lawyer before following her true passion for food and is now an authority on Pakistani cuisine. She presents BBC Scotland's Kitchen Cafe. JP meets Saturday Live listener, Mike Farquhar, tells of a childhood event that he believes changed his life. Actor Josette Simon shares her Inheritance Tracks - Hit the Road Jack by Ray Charles and You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me by Gladys Knight and the Pips.
Mountain Berries and Desert Spice by Sumayya Usmani is published by Frances Lincoln. Josette Simon stars in Antony and Cleopatra at the Barbican in London until 20th January 2018. Dan Snow has recently launched new history channel, History Hit TV. Alan Fell is currently working on productions of The Duchess of Malfi, MacBeth, The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich and a First Encounters Schools project of Julius Caesar at the RSC, Stratford- upon Avon,.
Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein are joined by the commentator and former England Rugby hooker, Brian Moore, who talks about his career, recent health scare and passion for opera and wine. 18 year old Liv Cooke is the current Football Freestyle World Champion. She describes how sitting at home with an injury led her to the sport. The actress, Julie Hesmondhalgh, recalls her childhood in Accrington, playing the first transgender role in a soap, and her love of campervans. JP meets Saturday Live listener, Pat Ellison Reed, to find out why her mum taught her Jujitsu. GP and TV doctor, Rangan Chatterjee, gives common-sense tips for a healthier lifestyle; describes how he almost missed his own child's illness and the joy he finds by playing in a band. Feargal Sharkey shares his Inheritance Tracks - Brown Eyed Handsome Man performed by Buddy Holly and Aceperience by Hardfloor.
Brian Moore will be commentating on the Six Nations Championship, which runs from 3 February - 17 March. Julie Hesmondhalgh is appearing in the play The Almighty Sometimes at the Manchester Royal Exchange from 9-24 February. The 4 Pillar Plan, How to Relax, Eat, Move and Sleep by Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, is out now. Liv Cooke is taking part in The World Freestyle Football Championships on 22 February in Tokyo.
Actor Phil Daniels joins Aasmah and Richard in the studio. Since his first big role aged 19 as the lead in cult The Who film Quadrophenia, he hasn't stopped working in film, theatre or TV including Eastenders; Chicken Run; Les Miserables; Shakespeare; and the voice in Blur's Park Life. Now actor Phil Daniels is putting his versatility to good use in a new production of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Stefanie Reid is a five-time world record holder, reigning world champion in long jump, and triple Paralympic medallist in the long jump and 200m sprint. She'll be talking about her journey and the future.
Fashion historian author and vintage clothes expert Amber Butchart joins us to talk about the significance of clothes in our lives, as explored in her new show 'A Stitch in Time', which fuses biography, art and the history of fashion to explore the lives of historical figures through the clothes they wore.
A couple of years ago, after hearing a talk by a colleague, listener and teacher Helen Brace decided to set herself a new year challenge, but instead of choosing something to give up, she wanted to add something to her life. Last year she decided to walk a 1000 miles, raise a 1000 pounds for charity and read 1000 pages for pleasure each month. What has she challenged herself to this year?
Texas singer and songwriter Sharleen Spiteri chooses her inheritance tracks. She chooses Rock the Casbah by The Clash and These Boots are Made for Walking by Nancy Sinatra.
Our reporter Anna Bailey meets Cyril and his barber Peter.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde opens on 14 February at Rose Theatre Kingston and then tours the country A Stitch in Time with Amber Butchart is on BBC4 on Wednesday evenings from 3rd January Barber Shop Chronicles runs at the National Theatre until 9th January
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland.
The poet Lemn Sissay, lexicographer Susie Dent and conservationist Ian Redmond join the Reverend Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir.
Lemn Sissay is a poet and broadcaster who has written extensively about his childhood in care. His new collection of poetry Gold from the Stone is published by Canongate Books.
Susie Dent is a lexicographer who is the resident word expert in Dictionary Corner on Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. Her book Dent's Modern Tribes - The Secret Languages of Britain is published by John Murray Publishers.
Ian Redmond is a wildlife biologist and conservationist, renowned for his work with great apes and elephants, who worked closely with the late Dr Dian Fossey,
JP Devlin meets singer Barry Manilow and singer and activist Mavis Staples shares her inheritance tracks - Will the Circle Be Unbroken by the Staple Singers and What's Going On by Marvin Gaye.
Producer: Paula McGinley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the lyricist and musician Chris Difford who, along with Glenn Tilbrook, co-founded Squeeze - with hits such as 'Cool For Cats' and 'Up The Junction'. He talks about his life from early years in south London to playing Madison Square Garden, battling addiction and receiving two Ivor Novello Awards. Dr. Rachel Clarke describes the atmosphere on the hospital ward during the festive season, and the humanity shown by patients and staff alike. Anna Bailey meets Brendan O'Carroll aka Mrs Brown, one of the most popular sitcom characters on our screens today, to find out about the man behind the cardigan and the curlers. Gwenda Gofton recalls her varied Christmases as an evacuee during the war, working as nurse where she turned the ward into a jungle/rainforest, to life as a vicar's wife and opening her doors to strangers. John Lloyd is the creator and founding producer of The News Quiz, Spitting Image, Not the Nine O'Clock News, Blackadder & QI - billed as "the world's most impossible quiz". He provides obscure facts and explains why what we think we know, may be only partially true. Peggy Seeger shares her Inheritance Tracks - Goodnight Irene performed by Leadbelly and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face performed by Roberta Flack.
Some Fantastic Place - My Life In and Out of Squeeze by Chris Difford is out now, and he'll be on an acoustic book tour in the Spring of 2018. Your Life in My Hands by Dr. Rachel Clarke. Mrs Brown's Boys is on BBC One on Christmas Day and New Year's Day at 10pm. John Lloyd's 1,423 QI Facts To Bowl You Over is out now. Peggy Seeger's The First Time Ever - songs and a memoir- are out now.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Hit singer songwriter James Blunt joins Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny to talk hits, the army and acerbic tweets.
Actor Abubakar Salim is the new lead in Assassin's Creed, a video game. We ask him why he wanted to act in a game, how it compares to other roles and how his martial arts study helped the role.
We have explosive ordinance disposal expert turned reality TV Love Islander Camilla Thurlow.
Listener Clare Rixon has run a marathon every month in 2017, set up a virtual running challenge and runs for her psychological well being.
And ahead of the Strictly final we have the Inheritance Tracks of last year's winner, Ore Oduba who chooses Pride by U2 and One Last Time by Ariana Grande.
James Blunt's lastest album is The Afterlove
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein meet astronaut Tim Peake; writer and actor Sanjeev Kohli and cake maker Cynthia Stroud.
Tim Peake is a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut. He finished his 186-day Principia mission on the International Space Station for Expedition 46/47 when he landed back on earth on June 18th 2016. His new book Ask an Astronaut is published by Century.
Sanjeev Kohli is a writer, actor and comedian who stars in the BBC Radio Four series Fags, Mags and Bags and the Scottish sitcom Still Game.
Cynthia Stroud is a cake maker who is one of the four modern confectioners in BBC Two's The Sweet Makers at Christmas. They'll recreate the treats of Christmas past, and discover how their predecessors helped create many of the culinary festive traditions we enjoy today - from Queen Victoria's favoured Boar's Head cake to sugar mice and chocolate apples and oranges. The Sweet Makers at Christmas is broadcast on BBC Two on December 15th.
Also on the programme the actor David Jason shares his inheritance tracks - the Darktown Poker Club by Phil Harris and Holding Back the Years by Simply Red.
Producer: Paula McGinley. Editor: Eleanor Garland.
The actress and Radio 2 DJ, Liza Tarbuck, joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles to discuss annuals, puzzles and why she's distracted by everything.
Michael Smith became the first person to fly solo around the world in an amphibious plane, retracing the 1938 Qantas, Imperial Flying Boat Routes between Sydney, Southampton and New York. He explains why he visited 70 cinemas along the way.
JP Devlin meets Saturday Live listener Jill Conibere, who got in touch to tell us about her invention: It was very simple, it was very practical and... it was very personal.
Animal handler Henrietta Fiddian-Green describes the challenges of looking after sheep, a lamb, horses and Chester the Donkey for the Wintershall Nativity Play, Meanwhile, Graeme "The Dogfather" Hall explains how to deal with dogs behaving badly, and why he likes to Tango in his spare time.
And the singer Seal shares his Inheritance Tracks. He chooses - Smile by Nat King Cole and God Give Me Strength, by Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach.
Liza Tarbuck's book I An Distracted By Everything - An Annual for Grown-ups, is out now. Voyage of the Southern Sun, An Amazing Solo Journey Around the World is by Michael Smith. The Wintershall Nativity Play runs from 13-17 December. Seal's new album Standards, featuring his own version of the song Smile, is out now.
Bruce Dickinson is best known as lead singer one of the most successful heavy metal bands in history, Iron Maiden. But he's also a airline captain, international fencer, radio presenter, and writer, who has now written his autobiography. The man once billed a "Human air raid siren" joins Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir in the studio.
Alby Shale's father, Christopher Shale, died of a heart attack aged 56 in 2011 when Alby was 20. Not long before he died, he'd taken Alby to Rwanda to show him the volunteering work he'd been doing there, which had resulted in a plan to open the country's first national Cricket stadium. After his father's sudden death, Alby decided to help complete the project and joins us after having just returned from Rwanda where he watched the stadium's opening ceremony and inaugural match.
We also meet Shobna Gulati, actress, writer and dancer known for her roles in Dinnerladies and Coronation Street, about to star in Daisy Pulls it off.
And listener Clorinda Goodman is a solicitor turned stone mason. She will join us to talk about what she's got out of turning to this physically demanding and creative craft in later life.
We also have the inheritance tracks of television presenter, reality TV star, life coach and former professional footballer, Jeff Brazier.
and JP gets an insiders tour of Birmingham Royal Ballet's Nutcracker.
What does this Button do by Bruce Dickinson is out now Daisy Pulls it Off is at the Park Theatre in London until 13 January Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of The Nutcracker is at the Birmingham Hippodrome until the 13th of December
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Beverley Purcell.
Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher thrillers, talks to Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny about his latest book The Midnight Line.
Actress Alison Steadman discusses Hold the Sunset, her upcoming sitcom with John Cleese, and her children's book - Spider!
Space engineer Abbie Hutty reveals what it takes to design the new Mars Rover due for the red planet in 2020.
And TV archaeologist Alex Langlands explains why he thinks we need to do more things for ourselves, and stop relying on machines and gadgets. It's in his new book, Craeft - How Traditional Crafts Are About More Than Just Making. (And yes, that's 'craeft' with an e.)
Presenters: Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny Producer: Paul Waters.
Katie Melua joins Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir. She talks about her childhood from Georgia to Belfast and London, her music, and she describes how the late Sir Terry Wogan championed her career and how she has released this year's official BBC Children in Need single in his honour. Saturday Live hosts Radio 4's BBC Children in Need auction, offering listeners the chance to bid for some amazing prize packages to raise money for BBC Children in Need. Auctioneer, Will Farmer is on hand to update the bids. Jonathan Agnew describes The Test Match Special VIP Experience at Lord's; Corrie Corfield reveals life Behind the Scenes at BBC Radio News, and Barry Cryer, talks about I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue Experience, including the legendary Mornington Crescent. LINES ARE NOW CLOSED - DO NOT CALL OR TRY TO BID.
We hear from children who have been helped by projects supported by Children in Need. Anna Bailey visits an equine therapy project, Taking the Reins. Poppy tells Aasmah how her visits to the Shakespeare Hospice have helped her to deal with the loss of her dad; and Richard catches up with Luke, who's been supported by Stick 'n' Step, and is en-route from London to Glasgow, as part of The One Show's Rickshaw Challenge.
(If you are listening to this on demand competitions may no longer be running.)
And Nick Knowles shares his Inheritance Tracks: Tea for the Tillerman by Cat Stevens and Synchronicity II by The Police.
Fields of Gold is out now. Katie Melua will give her first television performance of the song on the BBC Children In Need Appeal Show on November 17. DIY SOS - The Million Pound Build for Children In Need will be on BBC One on November 15 at 8pm.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles are joined by broadcaster and actor Reggie Yates. From Desmonds to Top of the Pops, he's been on camera nearly all of his life, but it's as a documentary filmmaker that he's now familiar, investigating everything from religion in South Africa, race and homophobia in Russia to gun crime in Chicago. John Virgo has spent the last forty years playing snooker as a player and commentator. Famous for his impersonations of fellow players from Ray Reardon to Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins and and his jazzy waistcoats, he'll be telling us how he went from a childhood in Salford, through smoky snooker dens, to winning the UK Snooker Championship. Mandy Hickson is a former Royal Air Force fast jet pilot - only the second woman to fly a Tornado GR4 aircraft - who served on the front line defending the no fly zone in the Gulf. Julia Newth is a Bewick swan specialist at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, who is awaiting the arrival of the Bewick swans to the UK this weekend from their summer billets in Russia's Arctic north. The musician, Benny Andersson, formerly of the seventies group Abba reveals his Inheritance Tracks - Rattvikarnas Ganglat by Dalarnas Spelmansforbund Mon oeur S'ouvre A Ta Voix (Samson Et Dalila) by Maria Callas.
If you are listening to this programme on demand, competitions may no longer be running.
Unseen by Reggie Yates is published by BBC Books. Say Goodnight JV - John Virgo - My Autobiography is published by John Blake.
Goldie, producer, DJ and artist; actor Tim Bentinck and model and campaigner Mary Russell join Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles..
Born in Walsall and brought up in a series of children's homes, Goldie made his name as a graffiti artist before becoming a sought after producer and DJ. As an actor he appeared in the James Bond film the World is Not Enough and learned how to conduct an orchestra in the BBC series Maestro. His new book, All Things Remembered, written with Ben Thompson, looks back at his eventful life and reveals how hot yoga has helped him come to terms with his past. All Things Remembered is published by Faber and Faber.
Mary Russell is a model, disability rights campaigner and a television personality. Born with achondroplasia - a common cause of dwarfism - she also works for a range of charities which aim to educate people about disability. Mary has appeared in the television series the Undateables and more recently in the BBC series Without Limits in which a group of people with disabilities travelled to Vietnam.
Actor Tim Bentinck has played the role of David Archer in BBC Radio 4's soap opera The Archers for the past 35 years. In his memoir, Being David Archer, he recounts his varied life from being born in Tasmania to being the Earl of Portland (a title he inherited from a distant cousin) the voice of Mind the Gap on the Piccadilly Line, an HGV truck driver, an inventor and the voice of James Bond in the computer game The World is Not Enough. Being David Archer is published by Constable and Robinson.
Also on the programme is Eloise Sentito who left her job as an academic to drive around the country in a campervan which is now her home and where she weaves blankets and shawls inspired by the landscape around her.
JP Devlin visits Rosamund Young who runs a farm in the Cotswolds where she observes the mannerisms and relationships developed by her cattle - all the better to learn from their behaviour. The Secret Life of Cows is published by Faber and Faber.
And comedian Shazia Mirza reveals her inheritance tracks - Verdi's The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from the opera Nabucco and Heroes by David Bowie.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles are joined by chef, restaurateur and TV presenter Rick Stein whose latest culinary journey has taken him to California and Mexico.
Showjumper Nick Skelton went on to win Olympic Gold after breaking his neck in a fall.
After 60 years, Lin Sunderland has fulfilled her ambition to become a lighthouse keeper.
Mary-Ann Ochota has been travelling the waterways of Britain, discovering how boats have shaped our lives.
Plus, Inheritance Tracks from musician Nitin Sawhney. Nitin chooses So What by Miles Davis and Mustt Mustt by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Massive Attack remix).
The Road to Mexico by Rick Stein is published by BBC Books. Gold by Nick Skelton is published by Orion. Britain Afloat presented by Mary-Ann Ochota is currently on BBC 2 , Saturdays at 8.00pm. Nitin Sawhney's latest project is the score for the film Breathe which is released on the 27th October.
Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles are joined by the Queen of Baking, Mary Berry who has been teaching the nation to cook for over four decades. She's now turning her attention to home maintenance and tells us how to air our beds and clean our loos in a new book. Harry Judd is best known as the drummer for pop band McFly and a winner of Strictly Come Dancing. Now a fitness fanatic, he explains how exercise has helped him get over his anxiety, OCD and panic attacks Father and daughter performers Victoria and Mike Melody tell the story of how after a fatal diagnosis Mike planned his own funeral with Victoria. After a reprieve, they decided to go ahead with the funeral away - and put on a show about it. Dentist and mum of four, Ursula Goode, recently won a gold medal in gymnastics at the British Adult Gymnastics championship at the age of 44. The broadcaster and theatre critic, Libby Purves reveals her Inheritance Tracks - Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and Noel Coward's There are Bad Times Just Around the Corner.
Mary's Household Tips and Tricks - Your Guide to Happiness in the Home by Mary Berry is published by Michael Joseph. Ugly Chief with Victoria & Mike Melody runs at the Battersea Arts Centre from 31 October - 18 November. Get Fit, Get Happy by Harry Judd is published by Coronet. Libby Purves presents Planks and a Passion on Radio 4 on 17th October.
Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny are joined by the broadcaster Gloria Hunniford - who started out as a singer at the age of seven and went on to become the first woman to have a daily radio programme on BBC Radio 2. She describes how she has interviewed everyone from Salman Rushdie to Doris Day and even managed to stay on air during a bombing. Arctic explorer Erling Kagge discusses the enemy of all radio broadcasters - SILENCE. Head Concierge, Nigel Bowen, explains how he keeps guests happy at one of London's 5 star hotels. From having to arrange for frozen breast milk to be flown across the Atlantic to tracking down an obscure perfume with no name. The comedian, writer and agony aunt, Viv Groskop, shares life lessons gleaned from Russian literature and explains why she is such a Strictly superfan, and The Rev. Richard Coles updates us on his preparations for Strictly Come Dancing. Johnny Ball reveals his Inheritance Tracks - Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing) performed by Benny Goodman and the title track of Guys and Dolls.
My Life, by Gloria Hunniford is published on 19 October. Silence in the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge. The Anna Karenina Fix is by Viv Groskop. Wonders beyond numbers: A brief history of all things mathematical, by Johnny Ball.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Monty Don joins presenters Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny to discuss his television gardening career, his new book Down To Earth, and how getting your hands dirty is good for your mental well-being.
Tree climber and award-winning documentary cameraman James Aldred shares his love of trees and the adventures he's had with gorillas, leopards, snakes and poisonous frogs in rainforests around the world.
Soil scientist Jackie Stroud loves worms. She reveals why.
And listener Suzanne Gray explains why, at the age of 49, she joined the Territorial Army to work as an operating theatre nurse in a military field hospital in Afghanistan.
We'll also hear the inheritance tracks of TV property presenter Kirstie Allsopp.
Presenters: Aasmah Mir & Shaun Keaveny Producer: Paul Waters.
Presented by Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny.
The singer Marc Almond talks about his new album of 1960s orchestral pop and his diverse career using world music influences, including Russian folksongs.
Saturday Live listener Lisa Cooper tells the fascinating story of her grandmother Pearl, who was born in 1900 in a village near Kiev, in Russia and experienced pogroms, the Bolshevik Revolution and Civil War.
The 'Poetry Postie', Sally Crabtree, started out as a promising gymnast. However, a TS Eliot poem inspired her to try a career in poetry, and taking it into the community, where her projects have ranged from Poetry Bingo to Edible Poetry.
JP Devlin meets Strictly Come Dancing's warm up man, Stuart Holdham, and Aasmah phones Richard, who's preparing for the big night!
At 26 Tom Aikens became the youngest British chef to be awarded two Michelin stars. He reveals what spurred him on to succeed, and why he competed in the Marathon des Sables - to run six marathons across the Sahara Desert in five days.
Fergal Keane shares his Inheritance Tracks - The Parting Glass, performed by The Voice Squad, and The Scatterlings of Africa, by Johnny Clegg and Juluka.
Marc Almond's new album - SHADOWS AND REFLECTIONS' is out now, and he begins a UK tour on 3 October. Sally Crabtree's latest project CreativiTEA - wake up the wonder - launches on 9 October. Wounds: A Memoir of Love and War, by Fergal Keane - will be Book of The Week on Radio 4, starting on Monday 25 September. A Forgotten Land, by Lisa Cooper.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
As he prepares to join the forthcoming Living Legends tour, David Essex tells us about his route from blue-eyed East End boy to star of stage, screen and soap via a barrage of screaming fans. The Living Legends tour begins in October.
Comedian Katherine Ryan joins the Saturday Live panel show ahead of her stand-up tour. She'll tell us how she's found her move from Canada to the UK has been good for her career and... her skin. Katherine's tour runs from September to March.
For Barney Shaw it's all about the attraction of olfaction. The former civil servant sniffs out the biology, psychology and history of our sense of smell. The Smell of Fresh Rain by Barney Shaw is published by Icon.
Following a horse riding accident Claire Lomas became paraplegic. She has since become a campaigner, fundraiser and completed the 2012 London Marathon in 17 days using a robotic suit.
Dianne Buswell is the Rev's partner for Strictly. She'll tell us about the challenges that lie ahead.
Plus, the Inheritance Tracks of guitar hero Wilko Johnson. He chooses Cathy's Clown by the Everly Brothers and Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan.
Jeremy Vine recalls his dad-built tree house and hoisting Karen Clifton aloft on Strictly. Sally Goble tells us what it's like to swim the channel.
Malachy Tallack spends his time cresting the ocean wave in search of legendary and lost islands of the world
And look heavenwards with Penny Thornton, chef-astrologer, for tips on going Virgotarian...
Your Thank You and the Inheritance Tracks form Anthea Turner.
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by Stephen McGann, who plays Dr. Turner in BBC TV series Call the Midwife. He reveals why he has combined his passion for genealogy, with his academic interest in the social dimensions of medicine, to write a personal history of his family. Sarah Walker's father wrote the Countryman's Diary column in a couple of local newspapers until his death earlier this year. Sarah describes how she is now carrying on the tradition by writing her own column, The Countryman's Daughter, using his archive. Grace Savage is two-time UK Female beatbox champion, two-time UK Team Beatbox Champion - she explains how to beat box, record loops and why she used an ironing board in her act. The DJ Jo Whiley is an avid gardener. Anna Bailey visits her in Northamptonshire to discover the natural sounds she enjoys away from music. Despite training for the priesthood, A.N. Wilson left to concentrate on his writing, including biographies of famous figures from Jesus to Tolstoy, and most recently Charles Darwin. He talks about his particular interest in the Victorians and his family background in the potteries. With Inheritance Tracks from Brendan Gleeson: he chooses Teddy Bears' Picnic and Sweet Thames Flow Softly by Planxty sung by Christy Moore.
Flesh and Blood by Stephen McGann is published by Simon & Schuster. Jo Whiley is presenting Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park on 10 September. Grace Savage has a UK tour starting in Birmingham on the 29 September, ending in London with Soundcrash at the Arch Space on 11 October. Charles Darwin, Victorian Mythmaker by A.N. Wilson, is published by John Murray.
Sixty years in showbiz for Marty Wilde this year. The south London boy was signed by the famously unsentimental pop Svengali Larry Parnes, and rose to fame with the generation that included Sir Cliff and Billy Fury. He co-wrote Kids in America for his daughter, 80s pop star Kim Wilde, and has just produced his granddaughter's cover of the Lulu hit 'I'm a Tiger'. If that were not enough, this autumn he's off tour, the Solid Gold Rock'n'Roll Tour
Lara Jewitt's office is pretty unusual - the Tropical Nursery and the Alpine Nursery at Kew Gardens - where the world's rarest plant life begins. She has travelled widely around South America in search of rare plants and most recently won Gold with her team at this year's Chelsea Flower Show.
Sweetpea Slight grew up I suppose unconventionally in Dorset, the daughter of artists, but it was theatre for which she was destined. Event intervened, when just before she went to audition for drama school she got rather annexed by the theatre producer Thelma Holt, as famous for her eccentricity as for her nouse. She spent the next twenty years as Thelma Holt's assistant before finally making her move upstage. She's written a very fine book about it with the very fine title, 'Get Me The Urgent Biscuits'.
There's not much Roger McGough doesn't know about poetry. He was one of three poets who contributed to the anthology The Mersey Sound back in 1967. He's president of The Poetry Society and has published more than 50 anthologies. This year is also the 50th anniversary of his love poem Summer With Monika.
Inheritance Tracks this week come from Robert Webb - his new book is a sort of literary memoir of his journey from Boyz2Men - but lately has been best known as the hopeless Jeremy in Peep Show; and his West End Bertie Wooster was the talk of the Drones. He's returning, firmly packaged with David Mitchell, in a new series for Channel Four called Back.
Thank Yous from Esta Charkham .....J P Devlin on Gnomes......and much much more
And, our question this week is
"What is the most unusual thing in your garden"
Get in touch and don't forget to leave a number in case JP Devlin wants to call you back
EMAIL: saturdaylive@bbc.co.uk
TEXT: 84844
TWEET: #bbcsaturdaylive
Presenters: Aasmah Mir & the Rev. Richard Coles Producer: Maire Devine.
Actor Simon Williams; singer Heather Small; writer John Higgs and angler Marina Gibson join Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles.
The actor Simon Williams got his big break playing James Bellamy in the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. He is currently starring as Justin Elliott in the BBC Radio 4 series the Archers and a mysterious property developer - known as "the chairman" - in East Enders on BBC One. He is performing in Posting Letters to the Moon with his wife, the actress Lucy Fleming in which the couple read the wartime letters between Lucy's parents Celia Johnson and her husband Peter Fleming. Posting Letters to the Moon is at the Jermyn Street Theatre on November 19th.
Heather Small is a singer and songwriter, best known for her work with the soul band M People who came to attention with hits including Moving on Up, One Night in Heaven and Search for the Hero. Now a solo performer, Heather is a former contestant on the BBC One series Strictly Come Dancing. Heather Small is on tour in 2018.
Marina Gibson is a passionate angler and fishing instructor who started trout fishing at the age of 5. Her fishing trips have taken her around the world - she has cast her line for trout in Norway and for milkfish, bonefish and triggerfish on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
John Higgs is a writer. In his new book Watling Street he takes a journey along Watling Street, from Dover to Anglesey - a road of witches and ghosts, of queens and highwaymen, of history and myth and Chaucer and Dickens. Watling Street - Travels through Britain and its Ever-Present Past is published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson.
Also on the programme DJ and filmmaker Don Letts reveals his Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Paula McGinley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the chef and musician Levi Roots, whose business success began following an appearance on BBC Two's Dragon's Den. He's performed with James Brown, been nominated for a Best Reggae Act MOBO award and has returned to his musical roots with Reggae Reggae Hits. Alastair Sawday describes the joys of travelling, and travelling slow. Dominic Sewell is a champion jouster. He is at Dover Castle taking part in the first modern day joust, alongside Tobias Capwell against France. The stuntwoman Annabel Wood recalls doubling for Hollywood's leading actresses including stunts for Game of Thrones and the latest Mission Impossible film. JP meets listener Ant Grant, whose father's death inspired him to take up photography. Anoushka Shankar chooses her Inheritance Tracks - Tana Mana and Shanti Mantra - both by her father Ravi Shankar.
Levi Roots presents Reggae Reggae Hits. Travelling Light, by Alastair Sawday is out now. Anoushka Shankar is playing at the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on the 15 August and at the International Edinburgh Festival on the 16 August.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Good morning from Blenheim, where to the sounds of the xxxx brass band, we join Countryfile Live for an early harvest festival of things rural.
We're joined by John Craven, who's been reporting country matters from mad cow disease to morris dancing for nearly thirty years.
His co-presenter James Wong, ethnobiologist and man who knows his anise from his edamame joins us too...
....from the Blenheim Palace staff, social historian Antonia Keaney is here to talk parks and gardens, blue blood and green backs, kind hearts and coronets...
....and marriage guidance is available from Rabbi Jonathan Romain, whose new book revisits hijacked weddings, catastrophic funerals, and the various triumphs and disasters that attend the human condition.
All these, plus Inheritance Tracks from actor Miranda Richardson; and whiskered men in tweed shouting "get off my land" at JP Devlin to come.
Presenters: Aasmah Mir & the Rev Richard Coles Producer: Maire Devine Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project; actor and writer John Gordon Sinclair; performer Sophie Willan and confectioner Andy Baxendale join Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles.
Sir Tim Smit co-founded the Eden Project in Cornwall in 2001. The Dutch born businessman is also known for restoring the Lost Gardens of Heligan with John Nelson. It's 25 years since these gardens were restored to their former glory. This week the Eden Project launched a new company Eden Project International Ltd (EPIL) to establish Eden projects with international partners around the world. Eden Project International is currently working on three projects in China and others in Australia and New Zealand.
John Gordon Sinclair is an author and actor, best known for playing Gregory in Bill Forsyth's film Gregory's Girl. In 2012 he turned his attention to writing crime novels and his current book, Walk In Silence, is the story of lawyer Keira Lynch who is caught up in the murky Albanian underworld. As an actor Gordon was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Newcomer for Gregory's Girl and his first outing in London's West End in She Loves Me won him a Best Actor Olivier award. Walk in Silence is published by Faber and Faber. Gordon features in the television drama Diana and I which will be broadcast on BBC Two later this year.
Comedian Sophie Willan's new show Branded explores why she feels like a well-travelled alien - fitting in with no particular class or culture but still constantly being put into boxes by others. Branded by her working class background, her gender, her ambition, and her unapologetic 'Northerness', she explains the misunderstandings she's experienced in different environments. Her previous show On Record tackled the story of her childhood in care and the impact of getting access to her case files at 23. Branded is at the Pleasance Courtyard: Bunker 2, Edinburgh.
Andy Baxendale is a sweet consultant who features in the BBC Two series the Sweetmakers which explores the life of confectioners in late 19th and early 20th century England. This was a time when cheap sugar meant sweets for every class in society and the modern brands that we still know and love today were created. Using period equipment, original recipes and authentic ingredients, Andy and his fellow confectioners recreate sweets of the past and discover the adulterants and toxic colours used in sweets, the Quaker families who dominated confectionery, and the poignant letters sent back from the First World War trenches. The Sweetmakers is broadcast on BBC Two.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
Feargal Sharkey talks about his journey from Undertone to executive.
Josette Simon tells us about her career as an actor and current role as Cleopatra at the RSC Stratford.
Cat Irving is Human Remains Conservator at Surgeons' Hall Museums which are part of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
Hugh Thomson describes his journey across England accompanied by Jethro, his mule. (One Man and a Mule by Hugh Thomson is out now).
Richard and Emily Gottfried have played their way around more than 740 crazy golf courses all over Britain.
Poet John Cooper Clarke chooses his Inheritance Tracks: The Spaniard Who Blighted My Life by Bing Crosby & Al Jolson and What's So Funny About Peace, Love And Understanding? by Nick Lowe.
Martine McCutcheon, real life east ender, became famous as a TV Eastender in the 90s playing Tiffany, on off love interest for hi-maintenance Grant Mitchell, until she was squished by Frank Butcher outside the Queen Vic on Christmas Eve. She reinvented herself as a pop star - having a Perfect Moment in 1999 with the chart topping song of that name - and then another perfect moment co-starring with Hugh Grant in the Richard Curtis romcom, Love Actually. Off screen life, however, was complicated and after an award winning but stormy run in My Fair Lady in the West End, things went Pete Tong. Illness, bankruptcy, time to regroup - but now, fighting fit, she's back with a new album.
When Benjamin Mee's dad died, he persuaded his mum to buy a zoo so that the whole family could live together. Of course it wasn't as easy as that - there were plenty of challenges along the way. But his story was made into a film starring Matt Damon in 2013.
With the thank you slot, when we offer you the opportunity to thank someone for a good deed done by left unthanked, we're especially delighted on the rare occasion when a thanker is reunited with a thankee. But, people of Britain, today we reunite two of them live in the studio. Rabia Dignam and Sir Harold Walker, who met in a crowded and extremely tense Baghdad airport during the Iraqi Invasion of 1990.
There's not much Gabe Cook doesn't know about cider. He's made cider for big name companies and small breweries. He's done the PR for the UK cider industry. And now he is his own man - a ciderologist and Britain's first 'pommelier'.
The adorable and thoroughly cherished Roy Hudd was on Saturday Live a while ago with tales of his six decades in showbiz. He started as a redcoat, has appeared in everything from panto to Broadchurch, presented the News Huddlines here on Radio Four for a quarter of a century, and is today a custodian of anecdotes to the platinum standard of Ned Sherrin. Heritage on legs, people, and we thought we'd be unforgivably remiss if we didn't get him to surrender his Inheritance Tracks.
Cally Beaton has done alright. She worked her way up to senior Vice President at the media company Viacom International. Then inexplicably at the age of 45 she decided to get into stand-up comedy. Her show Super Cally Fragile Lipstick will be in Edinburgh from August 5th
And as you know we always want to hear from you - the listener. This week's Call Out is asking 'what unusual job do you do and how did you get into it'? In fact do you have such an unusual job most people wouldn't even know it exists? We have heard of people who are professional mourners. One person even told us they had a job as a professional 'cuddler'.
We want to hear from you.
Get in touch and don't forget to leave a number in case JP Devlin wants to call you back
EMAIL: saturdaylive@bbc.co.uk
TEXT: 84844
TWEET: #bbcsaturdaylive
Presenters: Aasmah Mir & the Rev. Richard Coles Producer: Maire Devine.
Alexei Sayle talks about his Imaginary Sandwich Shop and forthcoming appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Martine Wright lost both her legs in the 7/7 London bombings and went on to represent Great Britain in the London Paralympics in 2012. Unbroken by Martine Wright is out on the 13th July.
Cyrus Todiwala is a chef and restaurateur who has followed the spice route from Bombay to London. Mr Todiwala's Spice Box is out now.
Barn the Spoon is an artisan spoon carver, teacher, author and co-founder of Spoonfest. Spon: A Guide to Spoon Carving and the New Wood Culture by Barn the Spoon is out now.
JP meets electronic dance music duo Orbital.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of Alan Partridge. Alan chooses Who Put The Bomp by Barry Mann and the theme from Grandstand by Keith Mansfield. A-ha!
Judy Murray talks about her family and their tennis story - and her subsequent projects from dancing the Viennese Waltz at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, to heading the women's tennis coaching initiative She Rallies. Jamie Chadwick has just become the youngest British female racing driver to sign for a Formula 1 feeder series team. She explains how she got into the sport and became the first female and youngest racing driver to win a British GT championship. Wolfgang Puck has catered to the Oscars for 23 consecutive years. With the 35th anniversary of his flagship restaurant Spago this year, he recalls his culinary career. JP Devlin meets James Shepherd-Barron, the son of the inventor of the ATM, which celebrates it's 50th anniversary this week. The prize-winning author Adam Nicolson describes his childhood at Sissinghurst and how his visits to the Hebridean Islands sparked his fascination with seabirds. And the actress and singer Ute Lemper shares her Inheritance Tracks: Where Have All The Flowers Gone, performed by Marlene Dietrich, and The Rose performed by Bette Midler.
Knowing the Score: My Family and Our Tennis Story is out now. Wolfgang Puck is hosting Spago pop-up at CUT at 45 Park Lane until 1st July. The Seabird's Cry, The Lives and Loves of Puffins, Gannets and Other Ocean Voyagers, is out now. Ute Lemper will be performing the album 9 Secrets at the Cadogan Hall on 15th September; and will also be touring her 'Last Tango in Berlin - The Best of Ute'.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles chat with cricket commentator Henry "Blowers" Blofeld, Keane singer Tom Chaplin on his solo career, comedian Kiri Pritchard-Mclean & British Antarctic winter base commander Jess Walkup. We also hear interior designer Nicky Haslam's inheritance tracks and from the World Egg Throwing Championships in Lincolnshire.
Producer: Paul Waters Presenters: Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles.
A Canal Themed Programme with the Rev. Richard Coles on location from Foxton Locks in Leicestershire for the festival. He is joined by the Canal Laureate, Luke Kennard; Lynne Berry of the Canal and River Trust and volunteer and canal enthusiast, Derek Harris, performs from his one man show.
Aasmah Mir presents in London where her guests include: the playwright Lee Hall, who recounts his canal adventure and reveals the growing collection that is over-running his basement; and the cookery writer and former winner of Masterchef, Thomasina Miers, who gives her top tips for cooking on canal boats and discusses her passion chillies and street food.
JP visits Braunston Marina in Northamptonshire to meet Pete and Karen Flockhart, to hear how they first met on a narrowboat, and now make fenders and other ropework in their workshop overlooking the junction of the Grand Union and Oxford canals.
Leicester born singer Englebert Humperdinck shares his Inheritance Tracks, with a rather fitting tribute to his dad for Father's Day this weekend.
The Foxton Locks Festival at Foxton in Leicestershire -17 - 18 June 2017 - 10.00am - 5.00pm.
Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour is at The Duke of York's Theatre in London.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
The Rev. Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by the wine writer and broadcaster Oz Clarke; TV presenter and author of "The Grief Survival Guide" Jeff Brazier; former England cricketer and Director of Surrey Women's Cricket Ebony Rainsford-Brent and mathematician Dr Hannah Fry. Plus Bron Campbell and Holly Ford who opened a cake shop in a phone box. And garden designer Dan Pearson shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Oz and Armonico Drink to Music at Harrogate Festival (1 July), Buxton Festival (10 July) and Lichfield Festival (11 July). The Grief Survival Guide: How to Navigate Loss and All That Comes With It by Jeff Brazier is out now. Dr Hannah Fry and Ant Anstead present 'Britain's Greatest Invention' on BBC Two, 15 June.
Producer: Tim Allen. Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Presenter and barrister Robert 'Judge' Rinder; actor Daragh O'Malley; Clare Brant, professor of 18th century literature and culture and ship's captain Amelia Dalton join Aasmah Mir and the Revd Richard Coles.
Robert 'Judge' Rinder is a criminal law barrister and television court judge who is best known for his role on the reality courtroom series Judge Rinder - the British version of the American show Judge Judy. He came to widespread attention performing on Strictly come Dancing in 2016. He presents Judge Rinder's Crime Stories on ITV.
Daragh O'Malley is an actor who stars in Maxim Gorky's the Last Ones at the Jermyn Street Theatre. He is best known for his role as Patrick Harper opposite Sean Bean in the television series Sharpe from 1992 to 2008. His film and television roles range from Withnail and I to The Long Good Friday and Waking The Dead to Silent Witness while his theatre work includes Dancing at Lughnasa and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The Last Ones is at the Jermyn Street Theatre, London.
Clare Brant is professor of 18th century literature and culture at King's College London. She has curated Dear Diary: A Celebration of Diaries and their Digital Descendants. The exhibition explores what motivates diarists and charts the ways in which paper diaries have been joined by phones and tablets as our means of keeping track of daily life. Dear Diary is at King's College London in Somerset House.
After the death of her son, Amelia Dalton took a step that would change her life forever. She transformed a neglected Arctic fishing boat into a chic expedition ship to run cruises to the Western Isles. Along the way, she had to navigate bloody-minded fisherman, red tape, bank loans and shareholders - and gained the respect of the tough, hard-working island community. She's written about her adventure in her book, Mistress and Commander, published by Sandstone Press.
Also in the programme, writer Anthony Horowitz shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
Actor Adrian Lester, star of Sky drama Riviera; TV presenter and author of The Reassembler, James May; record breaking hula hooper and author of The Girl Guide, Marawa Ibrahim; plus cocktail gardener Lottie Muir from the Midnight Apothecary.
Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein are joined by the boxer and Olympic gold champion Nicola Adams, who talks about her boxing career and work as an extra in programmes including Coronation Street. Actor Les Dennis, spent three years on the Street playing burglar-turned-romeo, Michael Rodwell. He explains why he shaved his head for his latest role as Uncle Fester in The Addams Family. Survival expert, Megan Hine, is the woman who helps keep Bear Grylls safe. She describes how she contracted Lyme disease, was chased through the jungle by an armed drug gang and had to abseil past bears. Rochdale born singer and call centre worker, Jack Randle, is the first Briton to be selected to enter the 'Sinatra Idol Contest' held in Hoboken, New Jersey. He reveals what he'll be singing. Martin Kemp shares his Inheritance Tracks. He chooses Long Distance Love performed by Little Feat and Jumping Jack Flash by The Rolling Stones.
Believe - Boxing, Olympics and my life outside the ring, by Nicola Adams, is out now. The Addams Family is currently on a tour of the UK and Ireland. Jack Randle takes part in the Sinatra Idol Contest in Hoboken on 15 June. Mind of a Survivor, What the Wild Has Taught Me About Survival and Success, by Megan Hine.
Sharleen Spiteri was just 21 when she found herself and her band Texas at number 8 in the charts with I Don't Want A Lover. Almost 30 years later, she's still writing and recording - back with Texas since 2013 after a spell as a solo artist. Her new album Jump on Board is out now. Texas will play the Isle Of Wight Festival on Saturday 10th June and the UK tour kicks off on 11th September in Cardiff.
So many 50th anniversaries this year, and not least among them the Summer of Love, when nearly 100,000 long haired layabouts (quote) travelled to San Francisco to change the world. Reviews are mixed, concerning their success, among them Nick Campion's. He's an academic specialising in the cultural history of astronomy and astrology (indeed he used to do the horoscopes in a daily paper) - and his book The New Age in the Modern West looks back to that fabled time.
Well, she might not have made it quite to San Francisco, but Esta Charkham did it make it to Holborn and joined the cast of Zigger Zagger, the National Youth Theatre's landmark play about football hooliganism. It lit up theatre land in the summer of 1967. Now Esta wants to reunite the original cast. So far she has traced 43 of the original 87 members. If you are one or know someone who was a cast member email us at saturdaylive@bbc.co.uk with Zigger Zagger in the subject line
You might think that the Reverend Kate Bottley spends her life watching TV for Channel 4's Gogglebox but she's too busy for that. A priest in North Nottinghamshire, a regular presenter on Songs of Praise, wife, mum of two, dog owner and flash mob conductor. She talks about growing up in Sheffield, the priesthood and being a bit of a geek.
Jason Blyth has a fantastic connection to Eurovision. He's a music teacher from Perth who loves Eurovision so much that he wrote a song for it. He's in our Dundee studio
This week the Inheritance Tracks comes from Jazzie B. DJ and producer and one of the founding members of the Grammy-winning musical collective Soul II Soul. In the summer of 1989 their hits 'Keep on Movin' and 'Back to Life' seemed to be blasting out from every passing car. The band's mix of reggae, soul, dub and hip hop emerged from the world of sound systems and their maxim "A happy face, a thumpin' bass, for a lovin' race" got us all into the groove... Soul to Soul are on Tour now Next Tuesday as part of the Summer of Love Revisited at the Albert Hall, Jazzie B will be in discussion about the black music counterculture of the 1960s and 70s.
It's Eurovision tonight so we want to hear from you. Some people love it, others less so. What are your memories of watching Eurovision? Have you ever been? Do you have an interesting connection? Get in touch and don't forget to leave a number in case JP Devlin wants to call you
EMAIL: saturdaylive@bbc.co.uk
TEXT: 84844
TWEET: #bbcsaturdaylive
Presenters: Aasmah Mir & the Rev. Richard Coles Producer: Maire Devine.
Actor Dame Penelope Keith; interior designer Nicky Haslam; writer Alex Wheatle and conservationist Dr Amy Dickman join Aasmah Mir and the Revd Richard Coles.
Dame Penelope Keith, best known for her television roles in the Good Life and To The Manor Born, celebrates village life in the Channel 4 series Hidden Villages and is currently on a quest to find Britain's Village of the Year.
Interior designer and socialite Nicky Haslam is performing his cabaret show - featuring songs by Cole Porter, Kurt Weill and Irving Berlin - at the Pheasantry in London in May and June. His company has designed homes for Mick Jagger, Bryan Ferry, Rod Stewart, Ringo Starr, Charles Saatchi and Rupert Everett among others.
Alex Wheatle is a writer of young adult fiction who won the Guardian's children's fiction prize in 2016. His latest book, Straight Outta Crongton, is the third instalment of his Crongton series of novels.
Dr Amy Dickman is a conservation biologist with a particular interest in the maintenance of threatened wildlife populations on human-dominated land and how to resolve human-wildlife conflict. She is director of Ruaha Carnivore Project (RCP), a community-based lion conservation initiative in Tanzania.
Actor Dennis Quaid reveals his Inheritance Tracks and talks about his love of music and performing with his band, the Sharks. He stars in A Dog's Purpose which is on general release.
The Hot 8 Brass Band from New Orleans have been playing together for 20 years, performing at community parades and funerals. The band's founder and sousaphone player Bennie Pete discusses the band's early years and celebrates their music and sense of unity which has held them together during the good times and the bad. The band are touring the UK.
Producer: Paula McGinley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by the singer/songwriter Leo Sayer. Still touring 40 years after he reinvented the Pierrot for Top of the Pops, he discusses his popularity in south East Asia, playing the harmonica, and singing karaoke with businessmen. The former rugby player Martin Bayfield talks about on being the other side of the camera, and how his 6'10" frame led to the role of Hagrid's body double. Vlogger Lucy Earl's tips on grammar and pronunciation have been viewed by 12 million people worldwide. She reveals the most common mistakes. And adventurer Charley Boorman describes his recovery after a major motorbike accident. Esther Rantzen shares her Inheritance Tracks: Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage Mrs Worthington by Noel Coward; and With a Little Help From My Friends performed by Wet Wet Wet.
Leo Sayer is about to embark on a 25 date tour of the UK throughout May and June. English with Lucy is on Youtube Long Way Back by Charley Boorman is out now.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Roy Hudd is a national treasure. He's been entertaining, acting and generally having fun on TV, the stage and wireless for many decades. Next month he'll be 81 years old and he's still working.
Imelda May grew up in the Liberties, once the toughest slum in Dublin, where she learned the art of song and acquired a noble quiff, which made her the Rockabilly queen of the Dublin scene. Her breakthrough came on Jools Holland's 'Later' (she also supported his band on tour) and was snapped up by the likes of Bono and The Chieftains, who know a proper voice when they hear one. The quiff is no more, to mark a change of emphasis and tone, I guess, and her new album, Life Love Flesh Blood is produced by T Bone Burnett, does what it says on the tin. .
New Zealander Stuart Barnes started working as a shepherd when he was just 11. He now spends his time travelling and running a Dog and Duck Show. He talks about his lifelong love of animals, developing his knowledge of animal behaviour and ways to communicate with dogs
Hard to get a page from the flimsiest of manifestos between politics and comedy these days, some have said, so it must be a fertile opportunity for Ayesha Hazaroka, who was a special adviser to Labour politicians both in government before reinventing herself as a commentator and a comedian, and a grave disappointment to her mother who still really really wants her to be a doctor. Her new show State of the Nation was obliged to undergo a hurried rewrite after elevenses last Tuesday, when the Prime Minister surprised us all by calling a general election.
This weeks Inheritance Tracks comes from humanitarian and ex-hostage Terry Waite
And much much more
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The programme is presented by Kate Silverton & the Rev. Richard Coles and the producer is Maire Devine.
Comedian Milton Jones; musician Sam Sweeney; opera impresario Michael Volpe and curator Catherine Howell join Aasmah Mir and Kate Silverton.
Milton Jones is a stand-up comedian, known by many as the king of the one-liners. A regular panellist on BBC Two's Mock the Week, he has a penchant for wild hair and colourful shirts and a gentle, self-deprecating wit. Later this year he embarks on a new tour, Milton Jones is Out There, taking a philosophical look at his life so far with what he calls his 'manifesto of nonsense'. Milton Jones is Out There 2017 tour begins in September at the Richmond Theatre.
Michael Volpe is the general director and co-founder of Opera Holland Park. Brought up by a single mother on a London council estate, he attended the progressive Woolverstone Hall School in Suffolk which took inner city London boys, often from broken families, and gave them the opportunity to explore art and culture at an early age. Passionate about making opera accessible to everyone, Michael has directed a short film, From Footy to Verdi, in which he introduces his three sceptical friends and fellow Chelsea supporters to the joys of opera. Opera Holland Park's new season opens on June 1st.
Six years ago Sam Sweeney, fiddle player with Bellowhead, bought a violin in Oxford. It had all the appearance of a new instrument but the label inside gave the date 1915 and the name Richard S Howard. Sam discovered the violin had been made - but never finished - by a luthier and some-time music hall performer from Leeds called Richard Spencer Howard who died in battle during the First World War. The violin languished unfinished for many years until it was completed in 2007 and placed in the window of an Oxford music shop where it was spotted by Sam. Sam tells the extraordinary story of his fiddle in his show Made in the Great War which tours in June.
Catherine Howell is collections manager at the V & A Museum of Childhood. She curated the exhibition, Game Plan: Board Games Rediscovered which traces the history and enduring appeal of board games. From the Senet board of Ancient Egypt to the mobile phone app, Words with Friends, game playing has remained a constant and important part of people's lives, a friendly way to compete and a necessary escape from reality. Game Plan: Board Games Rediscovered is at the V & A Museum of Childhood until April 23rd.
Producer: Paula McGinley Editor: Anne Peacock.
The actor and TV personality Christopher Biggins joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles. Best known for his performances as Lukewarm in the BBC series of Porridge, Emperor Nero in I Claudius, and as Rev. Ossie Whitworth the wicked vicar in Poldark. He's one of the Great Dames of British Pantomime and was crowned 'King of the Jungle'. He talks about his career and latest work on the comedy album Wit & Whimsy.
Horologist, Steven Fletcher, is the third generation of clockmakers in his family. He's worked on many important timepieces - some dating back to the 17th century, and the clocks at Chequers.
Retired rugby flanker Maggie Alphonsi took 74 caps for England and 7 Six Nations titles during her international career. She discusses her career, her role in commentating and inspiring the next generation.
JP Devlin meets Saturday Live listener Anne Watson. She tells the story of losing her sight, learning to ice stake and finding love.
The comedian Russell Kane chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Can't Get Enough of Your Love by Barry White and The Waves by Einaudi.
Dixe Wills is an author, travel writer and regular winter camper. He describes how he travels around by train and bike in his quest to discover Britain's tiniest curiosities - from stations to islands, churches and tiny campsites.
The comedy album Wit & Whimsy is out now. A live show featuring performances of songs from the album is being staged at The Hippodrome in London's West End on Sunday 30 April, 2017. Tiny Campsites by Dixe Wills is out now. Russell Kane is on tour with his show 'Right Man, Wrong Age'.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Anne Peacock.
Irish singing superstar Daniel O'Donnell made history in 2016 by becoming the first recording artist in the history of the UK album chart to have at least one new album every year since 1988 - an unprecedented 29-year run - surpassing the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and U2. He talks about growing up in Donegal and how he got into the music business.
Samantha Renke is an actor with a disability and can be seen in the latest Maltesers advertisement. Sam has a genetic condition -osteogenesis imperfecta -that causes bones to break easily. It affects type I collagen in the body and is more commonly called brittle bone disease. Owing to multiple fractures, people with the condition usually have stunted growth. Sam won 'Best Lead Actress' in Little Devil, a multiple award-winning British indie film at the 2014 Los Angeles Diversity Film. Sam also works to raise disability awareness as she is currently campaigning with Channel 4, as well as the charity SCOPE.
Simon Cooper is fly fisherman and conservationist. He's just published a book called the Otter's Tale. He's also involved in preserving Britain's chalk streams.
Fiona, 8th Countess of Carnarvon is the Chatelaine of Highclere Castle where Downton Abbey is filmed. Her most recent book is At Home at Highclere - the stories behind some of the most famous dinner parties. Guests have included Disraeli, Prince of Wales, and Henry James.
The Inheritance Tracks are provided by David Rodigan MBE - an English radio DJ who also performs as a disc jockey for his sound system.
Presenters: Aasmah Mir & the Rev. Richard Coles Producer: Maire Devine.
The actress Jodie Prenger joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles. Best known for winning the role of Nancy in the West End production of Oliver! She is now receiving rave reviews for her performance as Shirley Valentine in the 30th anniversary UK tour.
JP Devlin meets Jess Turtle, who recalls how her own family history and upbringing in Cardiff has inspired the Museum of Homelessness.
"The First Woman of Black British Comedy", Angie Le Mar, describes how she toured doing stand up while raising her children, rebelled against her strict religious upbringing, and explains how a chocolate Labrador helped her during a low point in her life.
Dr. Scott Miller is an Australian vet who has worked with animals since the age of seven. Passionate about wildlife and animal conservation, he has dealt with everything from fitting a gold tooth on a sloth bear in India to performing emergency CPR on a chipmunk.
Social architect Zac Monro, talks about how he has led a "not so secret" double life, being twice-crowned air guitar world champion.
And Ian Hislop shares his Inheritance Tracks. He chooses: A Swingin' Safari performed by Bert Kaempfert And His Orchestra and Life Could Not Better Be, by Danny Kaye.
Shirley Valentine is currently on a UK tour. Full Circle, Turning Your Gift Around by Angie Le Mar, is out now. The Wipers Times runs at the Arts Theatre in London until 13 May.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Jimmy Osmond is only 53 - but has 50 years of showbiz under his belt. How does he do it?
Maria MacLennan trained as jewellery designer but found her way, unexpectedly, into a very different (if related) field. She's now developed a career as a forensic jeweller, sent for to reunite owners with jewellery, but also, in the event of disasters like a plane crash, or a building collapse, to reunite owners with their identities when dental records or DNA may not be forthcoming. And to capture the stories that jewellery tells about owners, relationships, family histories.
The choreographer was Dougie Squires, who in seven decades has worked with around ten thousand dancers, is best known for the Second Generation. Now Dougie's come out of retirement with seventy five of those dancers to celebrate Dame Vera Lynn's 100th Birthday. We sent JP Devlin, whose running man at Belfast's Sugar Sweet helped define the Northern Ireland of the early nineties, to meet Dougie during a break in the rehearsals.
If you're like Aasmah and have finally acquired a garden, then you know that you should be planting stuff in it around now. But what if you're not sure where to start? Hollie Newton was a stressed-out agency worker who started planting things in a window box and making lots of mistakes. These days she knows what she's doing and has written a book for people like me who haven't a clue, containing useful jargon-free chapters like 'Things I Wouldn't Bloody Bother With' and 'Overplanting Compulsion Disorder'...
Tony Prince the disc jockey began his working life as a real jockey, an apprentice with Willie Carson. But it was with spinning discs rather than racing nags that he made his name, on the pirate ship Caroline and then at Radio Luxembourg, before going to a glittering career in dance music. Back then he was already one of the most enterprising of DJs, touring Czechoslovakia in the Communist era, when deviating from the party line was dealt with ruthlessly. He met there a young railway worker called Jan Sestak, a secret pop fan and aspiring DJ, a risky business back. They have been friends for over forty years and they've written a book - "The Royal Ruler and The Railway DJ".
The Inheritance Tracks Fearne Cotton - DJ, presenter, 20 years in showbiz - says it's time to slow down a bit and appreciate the simple things in life. This is someone who started in TV at the age of 15 after winning a competition to present The Disney Club. 20 years on, she has worked on Fame Academy, Top of the Pops, Children in Need, The BRIT Awards and of course Radio 1. But Fearne recently talked about her experience of depression and described how she used to put on a fake smile and go into "robot mode" to do her job. We asked her to chill out while she picked her inheritance tracks. Fearne's tracks were (Good Times Bad Times) Led Zeppelin & (Rocket Man) Elton John (Rocket Man)
Editor: Eleanor Garland.
The actor Paul Nicholas talks about his recent visit to The Real Marigold Hotel and his early career in the first rock musical Hair. 'Punk potter' Keith Brymer Jones describes how he made his first item, a pottery owl, when he was 11 years old, but reveals that he actually started out as a ballet dancer. Saturday Live listener and retired nurse, Maggie Jones, has an obsession for photography and ... the ordinary. She can be seen snapping doors and alleyways, or checking for initials on bollards... Brenna Hassett is a bio-archaeologist who digs up bones for living, but she started her career running a record shop in California. Sooty and Sweep have graced our TV screens since the 1950s firstly with Harry Corbett and then with his son Matthew. They're now in the hands of Richard Cadell. Richard, Sooty and Sweep recently came into the Saturday Live studio to meet JP. And Corinne Bailey Rae shares her Inheritance Tracks - Me and Mrs Jones performed by Billy Paul, and There's More To Life Than This, by Bjork.
The Real Marigold Hotel is on BBC One on Wednesday at 9pm. Earlier episodes are available on iplayer. "Built on Bones", by Brenna Hassett, is out now. Sooty and Sweep (and Soo) are on tour until June. The Great British Throw Down is on BBC Two on Thursdays at 8pm.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Lee Mack star of the long running BBC sit com Not Going Out, former stable boy and keen darts players joins the Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir.
Life-long petrolhead Bron Burrell on why she is racing from London to Portugal in an 1970s Austin Maxi.
Saturday Live listener Philippa O'Sullivan who is preparing to take part in the only round the world yacht race for amateurs.
Former Commonwealth champion Matthew Syed gives a table tennis masterclass live in the studio.
Burlesque performer Iestyn Edwards shares his experiences of entertaining British Army personnel in some of the least hospitable places on earth.
Plus 1980 pop punk singer Toyah Wilcox with a brace of Inheritance Tracks.
Lee Mack is in The Miser at The Garrick Theatre, London from 10th March
The Greatest - The Quest for Sporting Perfection by Matthew Syed is published by John Murray
My Tutu Went AWOL by Iestyn Edwards is published as an e-book
Producer: Steven Williams
Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Rory Bremner joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles, with his impressions of Trump and JP, among many others. He explains what he enjoys about the wordplay of translating operas and, as Scotland play today in the Six Nations, he recalls how his love of the game led to early impressions of sports commentators.
As one fifth of The Saturdays Una Healy had success with 13 top ten hits. The singer/songwriter has now returned to the country/folk music roots of her Irish childhood.
Inspired by the Thank You slot Saturday Live listener Corinna Dawson contacted the programme to tell us about her idea for the Living Eulogy Box.
JP Devlin meets Ray Allen, creator of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, to find out how he came up with the comedy character Frank Spencer.
Consumer historian Robert Opie is arguably the King of Collectors with half a million items. He is now celebrating 250 years of the jigsaw puzzle, with an exhibition.
Film director Gurinder Chadha shares her Inheritance Tracks: O Janewalo Jayo Na from the 1957 film Mother India, performed by Lata Mangeshkar; and Something Inside So Strong by Labi Siffre.
RORY BREMNER: PARTLY POLITICAL UK Tour 2017 - runs until June 2017 Una Healy's new single Stay My Love, featuring Sam Palladio from her solo album The Waiting Game is out now. Corinna Dawson's website is the Living Eulogy Box. Gurinder Chadha's film Viceroy's House is in cinemas from 3 March. The Jigsaw Exhibition, 250 Years of Jigsaws - is at the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising and runs until the end of April.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Marti Pellow first hit the charts with Wet Wet Wet's Wishing I was Lucky in 1987. He's gone on to have a successful musical theatre career. With the forthcoming release of his solo album Mysterious, Marti joins Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir and explains why soul and jazz have always inspired him.
When Kerri Cameron lost her job working with horses- she unexpectedly found a new career as a motorcycle stuntwoman. She talks about her unexpected career change.
Anna Bailey speaks to Saturday Live listener Annabel Dunstan, who got in contact, via the Royal Academy of Dance, to talk about how ballet has bought her closer to her mother who has dementia.
Max Décharné talks about why he's fascinated by slang, and how many contemporary words are a lot older than you'd expect.
Hypnotist and author Paul McKenna shares his Inheritance Tracks. Paul has chosen Dancing Queen by Abba and Us and Them by Pink Floyd.
Comedian, actor and lover of magic Nick Mohammed explains how he's learnt to pick locks like an escapologist for his latest show Mr Swallow - Houdini.
Marti Pellow's single Sound of My Breaking Heart is out now and his album Mysterious is released on the 10th March. Max Décharné's Vulgar Tongues: An Alternative History of English Slang is out now. Paul McKenna's latest book Get Control of Sugar is out now. The run of Mr Swallow - Houdini staring Nick Mohammed ends at the Soho Theatre in London on the 18th February. His children's book The Young Magicians and the Thieves' Almanac is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Anne Peacock.
Una Stubbs discusses her love of painting and her role playing Sherlock's landlady Mrs Hudson
Dinosaur expert and primatologist Ben Garrod on how his love of nature started.
Bill Griffin founder of the Crowdwish website explains how he helps people fulfil their wishes and tries to set them on the path to happiness
Listener and folk singer Ian W. Brown on the perils of sharing your name with someone famous.
Plus singer Marti Webb shares her Inheritance Tracks
Producer: Steven Williams
Editor: Anne Peacock.
Amanda Redman, best known for her role as DSI Sandra Pullman in BBC1's New Tricks, joins Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir to discuss filming in Sri Lanka for a new TV medical drama, her early years in hospital following a scalding accident and why she set up The Artists' Theatre School.
Andrew Martin has had a passion for night trains since childhood. He talks about his recent experiences recreating journeys across Europe.
JP meets up with Saturday Live listeners who are related to cast members from Brief Encounter, to reunite them with Cyril Raymond's diaries.
Dave Morris shares his passion for Shepherds' Huts and describes how he restored one that was featured in Far From the Madding Crowd.
The gardener and designer, Joe Swift, explains how he came to gardening via a post punk band and a spell on a kibbutz, what it takes to win gold at the Chelsea Flower Show and the healing power of horticulture.
Bill Turnbull chooses his Inheritance Tracks: 'Three Little Maids' from the Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan and 'Che Gelida Manina' sung by Vittorio Grigolo, from Puccini's La Boheme.
The Good Karma Hospital is on ITV on Sunday night at 9pm. Night Trains - The Rise and Fall of The Sleeper by Andrew Martin is published on 9th February. Shepherd's Huts and Living Vans, by Dave Morris, is published by Amberley Publishing. Joe Swift is on A Man About a Garden Tour 2017. The album 'Bill Turnbull's Relaxing Classics' is out now.
Martin Kemp didn't realise when he was shifting kit for big brother Gary's band Spandau Ballet, that his future lay not back stage but ON stage. Invited to play bass in the band which conquered the world, with wedges and pantaloons and bandanas, he met and married backing singer Shirley from Wham, morphed into an actor in the Krays and in Hollywood, did a decade playing everyone's favourite wicked cockney Steve Owen on EastEnders and is now able to pick and choose pretty much how to delight us, notwithstanding the life limiting effects of a brain tumour at the end of the nineties.
Today Amanda Owen is a shepherdess on a hill farm in the Yorkshire Dales - in charge of 1,000 sheep, 9 children, 1 husband, a Sunday Mirror column and a Twitter account. But it was a chance encounter that led to her crazy, remote life.
Dr Charles Eugster. He is not only as fit as a fiddle, a body-builder, and a multi-podiuming champ in rowing and athletics, he also won his last British championship at long jump last year AT THE AGE OF NINETY SEVEN.
So you've got a nice career, it's going well and then you go and do something completely different... sounds familiar? Well Paul Sinha has done it twice. First he was a nice respectable doctor but decided to become a comedian. Then he decided to become a quiz player on ITV's daily show The Chase.
Michaela Strachan, who was the smelling salts in Wide Awake Club, and the her in Hit Man and Her, may now be found in combats in a sweaty tent deep in a muddy field... not raving these days but keeping very still and quite for Naturewatch on BBC2. She's made that difficult transition from children's to young adults' to grown up's television presenter and has learnt a trick or two: so we crept up on her hide, as hedgehogs and water voles and weasels scattered into the bushes, and forced her to hand over her Inheritance Tracks.
and much more.........
Presented by Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles Producer: Maire Devine.
Mark Watson is an award winning comedian who has written six novels. He explains why in spite of his success, his dream job is still to be a football commentator.
Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes make up The Shires, a British Country band. They discuss playing the Grand Ole Opry and how they both started out in choirs - one of them regularly singing for the Queen at Windsor Castle.
Toby Capwell has loved knights and shining armour since childhood. He is an experienced jouster, curator of Arms and Armour at The Wallace Collection and the man who escorted the remains of Richard III to Leicester Cathedral.
Parkour expert Charlotte Blake not only enjoys running, jumping and climbing her way across the urban landscape but also teaches the discipline to people with mental health problems.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of Tom Fletcher author and singer from McFly.
Mark's tour 'I'm Not Here' finishes at the Old Vic on Feb 11th.
Armour of the English Knight 1400-1450 by Tobias Capwell is published by Thomas Del Mar Ltd.
The Shires single Daddy's Little Girl is on the album My Universe. Both are out now on Decca.
Actor and presenter Martin Clunes, best known for his roles in Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin, joins Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir to discuss discovering the islands of Australia, his love of animals and life on his farm.
Gemma Todd is a mobile librarian who has just published her first novel, as GX Todd. She talks about getting her HGV licence and her love of Lego.
JP Devlin meets listener Jean Rawson, 93, who describes how her family dog comforted her in a time of great need.
Della O'Sullivan runs the Dulwich Wing Tsun Academy. She explains how she got into Chinese martial arts.
Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain shares her Inheritance Tracks. She has chosen Blackbird by The Beatles and Michael Jackson's Black or White.
DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles talks about his early music and sporting ambitions, love of cooking and passion for motorbikes.
Martin Clunes: Islands of Australia continues on ITV at 8pm on Tuesday. Defender by GX Todd is out now. Nadiya Hussain's debut novel The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters is out now. Proper Healthy Food book by Nick Knowles is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Former Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, joins Richard and Aasmah to discuss his surprise success on Strictly Come Dancing, passion for football, how he coped in public life with interiorised stammering and his life post politics "Gangnam style".
27 year old magician Troy has performed both street magic and for high profile audiences from Harry Styles to HRH Prince Harry. He describes how he overcame a fear of heights to perform tricks on a highwire!
JP meets Dr. Evadne Hinge (George Logan) - the surviving member of Hinge & Bracket, the comedy partnership that entertained the public in the guise of two elderly eccentric spinsters.
Jane Asher is an 85 year old grandmother of 11, and the Queen of masters swimming. She recalls how she swam competitively in her twenties, but didn't pursue racing until later in life when she lost her husband, and has gone on to win in excess of 100 world records.
Comedian Josie Long explains why she likes performing stand-up in people's living rooms, enjoys cold water swimming and her passion for 1930s film noir voices and playing Boggle.
Tom Chaplin, singer/songwriter and lead singer with the band Keane, shares his Inheritance Tracks: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel and Charmed Life by The Divine Comedy.
Strictly Come Dancing Live is on tour around the country from 20 January. Troy: The Highwire is available to watch on Channel4.com Josie Long is on tour during February and March with her new show Something Better. Tom Chaplin will be touring in May and his album The Wave is out now.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Eleanor Garland.
Comedian Lucy Porter joins Aasmah Mir and Kate Silverton to discuss why she originally wanted to follow in the footsteps of Kate Adie, the pleasures and perils of setting up a Mums and Babies comedy club and the influential women in the early days of Hollywood slapstick films.
Motivational writer and speaker Chris Barez-Brown will teach us how to switch off our inner auto pilots and become more creative in the New Year.
Pyrotechnician Jon Culverhouse explains the secrets behind putting on an award-winning firework display.
And Francesca Brown, who started out playing for Manchester City girls' team, but has since founded an all girls football academy, Goals4Girls.
Plus Alan Carr shares his Inheritance Tracks and 13 year old Joey Alexander reveals the secret to becoming a world famous virtuoso pianist.
Lucy Porter is taking part in the Bristol Slapstick Comedy festival from 18-22 Jan 2017. Wake Up! By Chris Barez-Brown is out now. Alanatomy, by Alan Carr is out now.
Producer: Steven Williams
Editor: Louise Corley.
Arabella Weir, star of Two Doors Down, talks to Aasmah Mir and Suzy Klein about what neighbours mean to her, festive celebrations and how she got into comedy.
Mark Forsyth explains why he decided to explore the stories behind Christmas traditions- including why we have decorated trees in our house and the real Good King Wenceslas.
Writer and musician Rhodri Marsden shared a picture of where he'd be staying when he went home for Christmas and found he wasn't alone in experiencing unusual festive sleeping arrangements.
Bruno Tonioli talks to JP Devlin about his festive plans, dealing with tragedy, and what dancing means to him.
Comedian Bill Bailey shares his Inheritance Tracks: Magic Moments by Perry Como and Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads.
Joe Wicks, known as The Body Coach, has gone from being a personal trainer to a best-selling author and fitness entrepreneur. He talks about what success means to him, becoming an optimist, and offers his festive health tips.
Mark Forsyth's A Christmas Cornucopia is out now. Bruno Tonioli's An Italian Romance album is out now. Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to British Birds is out now. Joe Wicks The Body Coach Workout DVD is out on Boxing Day.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Raymond Blanc grew up in a self sufficient household in France, and after a few false starts in other professions, became a self taught Michelin star winning chef, and restaurant entrepreneur.
Kassia St Clair loves colour. After studying historical dress she wanted to understand the colours referred to. Her interest led to a column in Elle Decoration and finally a book. She joins us to talk about The Secret Lives of Colour.
Saturday Live listener Mark Sutton Vane was obsessed with torches as a child. He later developed this into a career in lighting, and his dream came true when he lit the Olympic Park in Stratford in 2012.
Kat Francois is a performance poet and playwright who latest work was inspired by finding out on a trip to her parents homeland of Grenada that she had a relative who fought in WWI. She'll join us to talk of Poetry Slams and inspiring stories.
JP Devlin meets comedy stalwart Ricky Gervais.
We'll have your thank yous and the Inheritance Tracks of Maureen Lipman. She chooses When you wish upon a star performed by Barbara Cook and Frank Mills from the musical Hair.
Raymond Blanc's book is Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, The story of a modern classic The Secret Lives of Colour is by Kassia St Clair The next Word4Word run by Kat Francois, will be on 18th December, at 7pm at Theatre Royal Stratford and her play Raising Lazarus will tour in 2017. Ricky Gervais' DVD is David Brent: Life On The Road Maureen Lipman is in Sleeping Beauty at Richmond theatre.
Crime writer Anthony Horowitz joins Richard and Aasmah in the studio to discuss his love of Tin Tin, Victorian fairgrounds and why villages are so well suited to murder mysteries.
After his return from the International Space Station Major Tim Peake reflects on what home really means to him and and tells us why it's always good to wiggle your toes on a spacewalk.
Comedian Dave Gorman who has flown around the world in the pursuit of comedy, reveals just what led him to get an unusual tattoo on his upper arm.
Rhinal Patel explains why she put her trust in the kindness of strangers to help her travel from Hong Kong to her home in Wales for free.
And we hear from Britain's biggest roller coaster enthusiast who has ridden on over 1700 rides.
Italian chef Antonio Carluccio shares his Inheritance Tracks. He picks Prokofiev's Dance of the Knights and Yesterday by the Beatles.
And we hear from the volunteers opening the mail for the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal at St Martin's in the Fields.
Producer: Steven Williams
Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Star of Birds of a Feather and Strictly Come Dancing, Lesley Joseph, joins Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles live from the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House to talk about pantomime and her role as The Wicked Queen.
Trevor Jones reveals the secrets of The Poison Garden at Alnwick.
Paul Harris has been performing in pantomimes for more than 50 years. He recalls how he learnt the gags on the job, and explains what makes a good Dame.
The Saturday Live pantomime, written by Alan McHugh, and performed by our listeners, with surprise cameo appearances from Radio 4 presenters.
Cast members from Bollywood Jack perform live in the Radio Theatre. And real life Fairy Godmother, Jaime Thurston, describes how she makes wishes come true.
Phil Collins shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen All My Loving by The Beatles and The Times They Are A Changin' by Bob Dylan.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs runs at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth from 16 December 2016 - 14 January 2017. Bollywood Jack runs at the Tara Theatre in south west London from 7 December 2016 - 7 January 2017. Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins, is out now.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Aled Jones will forever be associated with the song he made a hit - Walking in the Air. Now he's released a seasonal CD where he sings in harmony with his 14 year old self. He'll join Richard and Aasmah in the studio.
Tez Ilyas left the civil service for comedy after doing a Saturday course in stand up. He's since appeared in eight competition finals, had a show in Edinburgh and wrote and performed the Tez Talks series about how to be a Muslim on BBC Radio 4.
A chance conversation with a friend at university has taken Kate Munro all around the world making snow sculptures. Every year, Kate spends 3 days and 3 nights in sub-zero temperatures, carving a 3 metre block of snow into a beautiful sculpture.
Fred Sirieix is Maître d' on First Dates, the Bafta award winning hit Channel 4 dating show, but he's also general manager of a top Michelin starred restaurant, and runs a service training company which helps prisoners train to work in restaurants.
JP meets John Richards who went on a mission to play every Cathedral organ in Britain.
Alan Davies gives us his Inheritance Tracks, he chooses Topol singing If I were a rich man, and Billy Bragg's St. Swithin's Day and we have your Thank yous.
Aled's new album is called One Voice at Christmas Tez Ilyas will be touring in the New Year First Dates, the art of love by Fred Sirieix is out now Alan Davies' DVD Little Victories is released on 28th November
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Kate Silverton and the Rev Richard Coles talk to Adrian Chiles about football and a particular match that pitted black players against white players.
Phoebe Wainman is the current British Stock Car Champion. She discusses the thrills and dangers of her sport and what it's like to come from a Stock Car racing dynasty.
Mark Grist gave up teaching English when his other career as a rapper took off. He explains how a chance encounter at a poetry performance evening ended up with him taking part in battle rapping competitions around the globe.
Photographer Richard Weston reveals why taking a picture of his son Sam had a tremendous effect on both their lives.
And Everton superfan Dr David France explains how he amassed the biggest collection of Everton memorabilia in the world.
Plus guitarist from the Smiths, The The and Electronic Johnny Marr shares his Inheritance Tracks.
Producer: Steven Williams
Editor: Beverley Purcel.
British Bushcraft, survival expert and photographer Ray Mears talks to Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles about what draws him to the outdoors.
Charlie McDonnell was the first Video Blogger in the UK to reach one million YouTube subscribers. He explains why he's trying to make science fun.
Saturday Live listener Paula Reid explains why she quit her job to become an Adventurer.
Reporter JP Devlin meets Zucchero, an Italian singer-songwriter most famous in the UK for the duet "Senza Una Donna (Without a Woman)" with Paul Young.
Presenter Matt Baker is currently taking part in the One Show Rickshaw Challenge in aid of BBC Children in Need. He shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by the Sherman brothers
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason is the winner of BBC Young Musician 2016. He performs live and discusses his musical ambitions, A-Levels and playing football.
Out on the Land by Ray Mears and Lars Fält is out now. Fun Science by Charlie McDonnell is out now. Zucchero's new album Black Cat is out now. The BBC 4 documentary Young, Gifted and Classical: The Making of a Maestro, featuring Sheku Kanneh-Mason and his family, will be broadcast 20th November at 8pm.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Clare Balding and Sir David Tang join Aasmah and Richard
Clare Balding was a horse mad girl who became a leading amateur flat jockey in her teens. She found success as a racing correspondent and since then has presented the Olympics 6 times, as well as numerous other chat shows, documentaries, and programmes about biking, walking. Now she's mined her own experience, and written a children's book about a horse mad girl.
Giles Chapman is a lover of Classic Cars and was Editor of Classic & Sports Car magazine. Recently the Reliant Robin caught his eye and he's written a book about it.
Listener Rebecca Peyton experienced the sudden losses of her father when she was aged 6 and her sister when she was 32. She joins us to tell us how she's so keen to talk about death that she wrote a show about it.
Sir David Tang grew up in Hong Kong before moving to the UK aged 13. After teaching philosophy for a short time, he went into business, and became an agony uncle for the Financial Times.
We have the inheritance tracks of Vogue editor, Alexandra Shulman who chooses Ladies who Lunch by Elaine Stritch and Blowing in the Wind performed by Stevie Wonder.
And we'll hear from Diary of a Wimpy Kid author, Jeff Kinney and have your thank yous.
The Racehorse who wouldn't Gallop is by Clare Balding The Reliant Robin, Britain's most bizarre car is by Giles Chapman Rules for Modern Life, A connoisseur's Survival Guide is by Sir David Tang and he will also appear at the Royal Geographical Society in conversation with Andrew Marr on 17 November. Inside Vogue, a diary of my hundredth year is by Alexandra Shulman Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down is by Jeff Kinney
Producer Corinna Jones Editor Karen Dalziel.
Actor and broadcaster Tony Robinson joins Aasmah Mir and Rev. Richard Coles to talk about his life onstage, the impact of playing Baldrick, and the unusual way his love of history developed.
Gemma-Louise Stevenson shares the art of wheelchair dancing.
Saturday Live Listener Dr.Ciaran O'Keeffe reveals how Ghostbusters inspired him to become a Parapsychologist.
Writer Jonathan Harvey meets up with JP Devlin and explains why he's decided to return to his hometown of Liverpool.
Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero shares her Inheritance Tracks. She has chosen The Schumann Fantasie performed by Clifford Curzon and Quintet Opus 18 by Mieczyslaw Weinberg, performed by Borodin Quartet
NASA Astronaut Mike Massimino talks about venturing into space, repairing the Hubble Telescope and his intergalactic playlist.
Tony Robinson's autobiography No Cunning Plan is out now.
Jonathan Harvey's latest novel The History of Us is out now.
Mike Massimino's book Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Alexander Armstrong, quizmaster, actor, classically trained baritone and occasional oboist shares his love of music and llamas.
Arlene Phillips left home at 22 to follow a career in dance. She founded the dance troupe Hot Gossip, courting controversy with Mary Whitehouse, and went on to work with a string of artists from Aretha Franklin to Robbie Williams and choreographed Hollywood films and West End shows.
Charlie Dark grew up listening to pirate radio in his bedroom and by the time he was a teenager he was sneaking out to attend illegal warehouse parties. He soon became a successful jungle music DJ and travelled the world but he gave it all up to found a group of runners who give back to their community.
Plus Paddy Ashdown shares his Inheritance Tracks and remembers how a failing pig farm irrevocably altered the future of his family.
Arlene Phillips is featured in the book 'Dogs and Their Faithful Celebrities' by the Dogs Trust Alexander Armstrong's CD 'Upon a Different Shore' is out now
Producer: Steven Williams
Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Michael Ball joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles to discuss his musical collaboration with the Tenor Alfie Boe; his family's association with the Mini car, and how he deals with his superstitions. The inventor and designer, Max McMurdo, shares his passion for upcycling and explains how he made 25 items from an old Beetle, and converted a shipping container into his home. Adele Jackson describes her five months working at the post office in Port Lockroy, Antarctica, sending out 70,000 postcards, and monitoring 2,000 Gentoo penguins. David Bramwell provides quirky stories celebrating curiosity and adventure. JP Devlin visits the memorial garden in Aberfan, to hear a moving account from David Davies, a survivor of the Aberfan disaster. And Ben Fogle shares his Inheritance Tracks: Flash Bang Wallop sung by Tommy Steele, and It's Tricky, Run DMC.
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe 'Together' - with a new album and nationwide tour. Upcycling by Max McMurdo. The Odditorium by David Bramwell and Jo Keeling is published by Brewer's. Cantata Memoria, For the Children by Karl Jackson is on the Decca label. Land Rover: The Story of the Car that Conquered the World, By Ben Fogle.
Producer: Louise Corley
Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Tom Fletcher of McFly, Silent Film pianist Neil Brand, Bookshop frequenter Erica Jones and extreme engineer Jimmy de Ville join Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir.
Tom Fletcher is best known as singer and songwriter of McFly, he's also written for Busted and One Direction, clocking up ten UK number one singles. He's also a children's author, having written The Dinosaur that Pooped series with his band mate Dougie Poynter, he's now written The Christmasaurus, his first solo kids' novel.
Saturday Live listener Erica Jones is a bookshop champion - she likes them so much that she has devoted her weekends for the last 3 years travelling all over the country visiting bookshops, reviewing them for her blog.
Neil Brand is a silent film pianist, which means he is both player and composer, improviser and emotional interpreter. He sees his role as raising the dead, bringing silent films back to life, the latest being Robin Hood from 1922.
Engineer and Adventurer Jimmy de Ville went from designing toys to creating special effects to serving in Afghanistan in the British Army. More recently he's been exploiting his love of engines: advising on and acting out dangerous stunts on camera for TV programmes.
JP meets Star Trek actor George Takei, we have your thank yous, and we'll have the inheritance tracks of DJ Trevor Nelson who chooses I Want You Back performed by the Jackson 5 and As by Stevie Wonder.
The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher is out now. The Star Trek 50th Anniversary TV and movie collection box set is available now. Neil Brand's new score for Douglas Fairbanks' 1922 Robin Hood premieres at the Barbican on 14th October.
Produced by Corinna Jones Edited by Karen Dalziel.
Ian Wright joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles to discuss his football career, proudest achievements and life after retiring from the game aged 36.
Reporter JP Devlin talks to Saturday Live listener Maria Prowse who talks about the special relationship with her dog- which nearly ended when Maria gave her dog away after her husband died.
Writer India Knight shares her love of dogs and reveals why she decided to choose her own name as a teenager.
Nicola White talks about collecting messages in a bottle: the types of things she's found and meeting up with some of the people whose messages she's discovered.
Enya shares her Inheritance Tracks. She has chosen Claude Debussy, Nocturnes: Nuages and Orinoco Flow.
Award winning comedian David O'Doherty will perform a song and explain why he's written a children's book about avoiding danger.
Ian Wright A Life In Football is out now. The Goodness of Dogs by India Knight is out now Nicola White is exhibiting her work at the Royal Naval College in London on the 21st December. Enya's new album Dark Sky Island is out now. Danger Really is Everywhere by David O'Doherty and Chris Judge is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Karen Dalziel.
The illusionist Derren Brown joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles to discuss why he's spent three years researching what makes us happy. The ex-footballer and manager of the England Women's Team, Hope Powell, received 66 caps for England and became the first women to obtain the UEFA pro licence. After managing the England Women's team for 15 years she has recently been appointed as the first female coach educator at the Professional Footballer's Association. Heavy metal marine biologist "The Blowfish" explains how he "reads" fish, why he has a passion for sharks, and the thrill of diving under ice in Norway. JP meets Saturday Live listener Rosemary who reminisces about her times spent hop picking in Kent in her youth. The comedian Abi Roberts describes her experience of doing stand up in Russia - in Russian - and why she brings Opera into her act. And the designer, Wayne Hemingway, shares his Inheritance Tracks. He chooses You've Got a Friend by Carole King, and Black Man by Stevie Wonder.
Happy: Why More Or Less Everything Is Absolutely Fine, by Derren Brown, is published by Bantam. Hope: My Life in Football, is published by Bloomsbury. Fishing Impossible is currently on ITV on Tuesdays at 7.30pm. Abi Roberts is performing Anglichanka at the Museum of Comedy in London on 14 October. Wayne Hemingway's Classic Car Boot Sale takes place in King's Cross, London on 1-2 October.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Comedian and writer David Baddiel on writing for children and whether death and dementia make good subjects for comedy.
Olympic diver Chris Mears won gold in Rio in spectacular style. He reveals how a brush with death inspired his success and his sideline as a music producer.
On the centenary of Roald Dahl's birth, Dr Tom Solomon discusses how the writer's fascination with medicine inspired many of his characters such as the BFG. As a junior doctor, Tom shared many late night conversations with the writer and gained a unique perspective on the celebrated author.
Palaeobiologist Dr Tori Herridge tells us about mysterious asteroid craters in Britain and her search for fossil dwarf elephants. Plus the Inheritance Tracks of former Chelsea manager and Dutch international Rudd Gullit.
Producer: Steven Williams
Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Cerys Matthews, Damon Hill, Meik Wiking and Benny Lewis join Aasmah and Richard for Saturday Live.
He became Formula One World Champion in 1996, following in the footsteps of his father, the legendary F1 champion Graham Hill who tragically died in a plane crash when Damon was 15 years old. Now a SKYF1 racing commentator, Damon will be telling us how he ended up behind the wheel himself.
Cerys Mathew came to our attention singing about Road Rage and Mulder and Scully with her band Catatonia, she's sung with legends like Tom Jones, the Pet Shop Boys and the Manic Street Preachers, now she presents a show on BBC 6Music and has started her very own Festival.
Benny Lewis spoke only English until the age of 21, now he speaks 11 languages and runs the largest language learning blog in the world. He joins us to tell his story.
Denmark is often ranks the happiest country in the world. Could their passion for hygge be behind it? We talk to happiness and hygge expert, Meik Wiking.
We have your thank you's and the inheritance tracks of opera star Joseph Calleja who chooses I'll never love you performed by Mario Lanza and his own version of A Vuchella.
Watching the Wheels by Damon Hill is out now The Little book of Hygge by Meik Wiking is out 14th September Benny Lewis' Language Hacking series includes French, Spanish, Italian and German Cerys' festival The Good Life experience takes place 16-18 September 2016 in Flintshire
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Stand-up comedian and actor John Bishop joins Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles. John Bishop found fame after discovering his talent for stand-up comedy in his thirties. He talks about his willingness to try new things, which includes a new TV interview series, his Liverpudlian identity and creating comedy.
Listener Rachel Gadsden is an artist who is involved in creating artworks and an animation for the lighting of the Paralympic Heritage Torch Lighting Ceremony.
Pianist Antimo Magnotta talks to JP Devlin about his experience on board the Costa Concordia cruise ship on the night the vessel collided into a rock.
Comedian and writer Deborah Frances-White was adopted at ten days old in Australia. She has tracked down her birth mother and family, and continues to search for her birth father.
American singer PP Arnold shares her Inheritance Tracks: River Deep Mountain High by Ike and Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin's Natural Woman, written by Carole King
Simon Cowell MBE, not the X-Factor music mogul but a former city trader. He now runs his own animal rescue centre, the Wildlife Aid Foundation.
John Bishop: In Conversation With... continues on Thursday's at 9pm on W. Deborah Frances-White's 4-part series 'Rolls the Dice' begins on Radio 4 on Friday at 11.30am. PP Arnold is touring around the UK from October as part of Maximum Rhythm N' Blues. Simon has published the book My Wild Life: The story of a Most Unlikely Animal Rescuer, which is out now.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles are joined by Ralf Little. He first came to our attention as Antony in The Royle Family and has now produced the 'mockumentary' series Borderline. He reveals why he swapped medical school for acting and what it was like to play football with Zinedine Zidane. JP Devlin meets Fergus Anckorn, a former British soldier, he was the youngest member of the Magic Circle and now, at the age of 97, he is its oldest member. Joanna Cannon advises people to 'dare to fail'. Having left school with one O Level, she worked in various jobs from cleaning kennels to pizza delivery, but ended up studying medicine, becoming a psychiatrist and writing her first book 'The Trouble With Goats and Sheep'. Jonathan Scott grew up in Berkshire, but has spent the past 40 years living in Kenya. He started out as a novice safari guide in the Maasai Mara Reserve and went on to become a wildlife artist, photographer and author. He describes his fascination for leopards and filming for the popular BBC series 'Big Cat Diary'. RJ Mitte rose to fame as Walter White Jr in the US hit series Breaking Bad. Like his character, RJ has cerebral palsy. He is now one of the presenters for Channel 4's Paralympics coverage which begins on 7 September. Ade Edmondson shares his Inheritance Tracks - The Song of the Weather performed by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann; and Jazz, Delicious Hot, Disgusting Cold by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
Borderline is on Channel 5, Tuesday nights at 10pm. Jonathan Scott's memoir, The Big Cat Man - an Autobiography is published by Bradt travel guides. Ade Edmondson can be seen in the 4 part series One Of Us which continues on BBC 1 at 9pm on Tuesdays.
Produced by Louise Corley and Annette Wells. Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Miles Jupp joins the Rev Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir and shares his love of cricket, rollercoasters and why he is possibly the poshest stand-up comedian on the circuit.
Lance Corporal Richard Jones from the Household Cavalry reveals how he combines being a magician alongside his military career.
Plus a trio of extreme sports enthusiasts: Blake Aldridge on why he left the world of Olympic diving to become a cliff diver, Emily Guilding explains the appeal of wing walking and why she performs headstands strapped to the wings of a plane and Saturday Live listener Romy Shovelton who races camels in her spare time.
Plus the Inheritance Tracks of the former head of the army Lord Richard Dannatt, High on a Hill by the Band and Bugles Of The Light Division and Highland Cathedral by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard.
Miles Jupp's stand-up tour Songs Of Freedom starts on September 7th at the Stables in Milton Keynes, and continues around the UK finishing in February 2017. Richard Jones is starring in the Impossible magic show, at the Noel Coward Theatre in London until the 27th August. Romy Shovelton will be camel racing at Chilham Castle, Canterbury on 4th September. Blake Aldridge can next be seen diving in the UK at Blue Lagoon in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the 11th September.
Produced by Claire Bartleet and Steven Williams Editor: Beverley Purcell.
Craig Charles and David Emanuel join Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir.
For a while Craig Charles was best known for playing Dave Lister in sci fi comedy Red Dwarf, but he has probably usurped that with his love for Funk and Soul, dj-ing on BBC 6 music and gigging around the country. With acting, poetry, performance, dj-ing and writing under his belt, now he's championing BBC Get Playing.
Fashion Designer and Royal Couturier David Emanuel has dressed Elizabeth Taylor, Madonna, Joan Collins and Princess Diana, done the Jungle and now he's on Saturday Live!
Claire Garabedian contacted Saturday Live about her unusual job - working in the therapeutic arts as a professional cellist. She joins Richard and Aasmah.
Earlier this year Lizzie Carr became the first person to paddle board the length of England via its connected waterways, using entirely human powered means. She'll tell us about her adventure, and why she did it.
We'll have a thank you from one of our listeners.
And we'll have the Inheritance Tracks of geneticist Steve Jones who chooses Rachie by Caradog Roberts and Richard Wagner: Twilight Of The Gods: Siegfried's Funeral March.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Beverley Purcell.
Martin Fry is a singer/songwriter who came to prominence in the early 1980s as lead singer of the band ABC. Their debut album, the Lexicon of Love, was a UK number one. Thirty four years on, he has released a sequel to reflect how his perspective on life and love has changed; and he explains why he now chooses to perform with an orchestra. The conductor Paul MacAlindin recalls how a newspaper advert: 'Iraqi teen seeks Maestro' led to him becoming the musical director of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq. Saturday Live listener Leslye Stansfield describes being reunited with her long lost bicycle and why its value is so sentimental. JP Devlin visits Matthew Sweet to take a look around his home and discover what it reveals about him. Jason Kingsley OBE, is a games developer and Royal Armouries Trustee, but in his spare time he is a practising knight. He discusses his passion for riding warhorses and jousting in a reproduction 15th century Milanese harness. And Billy Ocean shares his Inheritance Tracks - No Woman, No Cry, Bob Marley and A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke.
The Lexicon of Love II is out now. ABC will be performing an autumn tour with the Southbank Sinfonia Orchestra, conducted by Anne Dudley. Upbeat - The Story of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq will be Book of The Week on Radio 4 from 15 August. Here you are: The Best of Billy Ocean is out now, and he has a Spring Tour in 2017.
Dancer and choreographer Wayne Sleep talks about life as a dancer, his love of the stars and shares his unusual new hobby. Gary Fildes is a bricklayer turned astronomer, and founder of the Kielder Observatory in Northumberland. Listener Andrew Townsend talks about how his life changed after taking up running when he was 55. Reporter JP Devlin will be hearing all about how to train cats with Sarah Ellis, a Feline Behaviour Specialist. Writer and Producer Tony Garnett shares his Inheritance Tracks - he's chosen Tea for Two and Beautiful Boy by John Lennon.
With the Rev Richard Coles and Suzy Klein
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Saturday Live's summer road trip begins in South Shields, at the Westovian Theatre, with Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles.
As preparations for the maritime themed summer parade get underway, actor and presenter Denise Welch talks about why the North East will always be home, the return of TV series Boy Meets Girl and keeping her Geordie accent.
Olympian Brendan Foster talks about his athletic career and his inspiration for founding the Great North Run.
Leading the summer parade in South Shields is listener Ray Spencer, who is also the Executive Director of the Customs House arts centre. Ray will be revealing his maritime themed costume and sharing his love of pantomimes.
JP Devlin reveals what happened when he followed up a listener email and went to the reunion of the Double Decker Club, who set off on a holiday across Europe in the summer of 1964, on a red double decker bus purchased from London Transport.
Graham Young has been celebrating the British chippy for the Birmingham Mail since 2005. He talks about how he became a chip reviewer and what makes the perfect take-away.
Mike, Chris, Steve and Ken from the English folk group The Wilson Family will be performing live and talking about the regional influences that inspire them.
Chris Rea shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen My Father, sung by Nina Simone and So What by Miles Davis.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Karen Dalziel.
The Saturday Live Summer Road Trip pulls into its final stop in Cromer, Norfolk where Reverend Richard Coles and Kate Silverton broadcast live from the Pavilion Theatre at the end of Cromer Pier.
They are joined by Lesley Garrett, one of Britain's most popular sopranos, actor and writer Charlie Higson who found fame with the Fast Show, the double bass playing beatboxer Bellatrix and Steve Ignorant, lead singer of seminal punk band Crass, who became a Norfolk lifeboat man and part time Punch and Judy performer.
Richard and Kate discover why the pier became a uniquely British institution from the man who has visited every single pier in the UK, Chris Foote Wood.
Hollywood actor Ethan Hawke shares the music he treasures and the music he would like to pass on to future generations in his Inheritance Tracks.
Plus Sir Michael Savory who has amassed Britain's largest private collection of tanks at Muckleburgh and Saturday Live reporter JP Devlin gives members of the audience a chance to say Thank You to the people they never got the chance to thank for a good deed done.
Producer: Steven Williams
Editor: Karen Dalziel.
This week the Saturday Live road trip continues to Morecambe in Lancashire, where the Catch The Wind Kite Festival is taking place this weekend, with beautiful views across Morecambe Bay and plenty of fresh sea air. The programme comes live from The Platform, where Aasmah Mir and the Reverend Richard Coles celebrate the great day out, nostalgia, kites and space.
Morecambe-born designer Wayne Hemingway recalls his childhood in the resort, and tells us why Morecambe's seafront provides the perfect backdrop to his Vintage by the Sea Festival, attracting crowds of up to 40,000.
With a spectacular display of kites across the bay, Dave Holt describes his life-long passion for making and flying soft kites, purely inflated by the wind.
Cedric Robinson MBE has been on the notoriously dangerous sands all his life. As Queen's Guide for more than 50 years, he walks up to 500 people across at a time, walking the equivalent of twice round the world in the process!
The writer and comedian, Helen Keen's first stand up show It Is Rocket Science has won awards and been picked up by Radio 4 for three critically acclaimed series. She describes why her subject matter tends towards the unusual and esoteric, when her fascination for rockets began and why she's so enthusiastic about space.
The world's fastest one man band, Peter Moser, provides the music. He demonstrates his kit with bells and whistles on, and explains its appeal and relevance today.
JP meets the actress Margaret James, for a Brief Encounter. Hunter Davies shares his Inheritance Tracks - Georgy Girl by The Seekers and And I Love Her, by the Beatles; and there are live Thank Yous from the audience.
Helen Keen will be appearing at the bluedot Festival at Jodrell Bank, from 22-24 July. The Co-op's Got Bananas, by Hunter Davies, is out now.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel.
The next stop on the Saturday Live summer road trip is the beautiful seaside town of Tenby in Pembrokeshire.
It's the Long Course Weekend and Aasmah Mir and Richard Coles will be celebrating extreme sports, adrenaline and music, live from Wales.
Wrexham lad Tim Vincent first hit our screens as the youngest ever male Blue Peter presenter, which saw him flying a fighter jet, running the New York Marathon and carrying a large tree around with 3 other paras. He's spent the last 11 years as the roving reporter on NBC's flagship entertainment programme, Access Hollywood.
American country singer Stella Parton will be with us to talk about her new album 'Mountain Songbird: A Sister's Tribute' - a collection of re-recorded songs previously made famous by her sister, Dolly Parton.
A mix of orienteering, mountaineering and swimming with tombstoning thrown in, the extreme sport of coasteering is said to originate in Pembrokeshire. Local guide Ollie Davies talks about his passion for this exhilarating pastime.
As a scientist, adventurer and educator, Huw James is well versed in adrenaline. He uses his enthusiasm for extreme sports to teach science, in between keeping the night sky dark in the Brecon Beacons.
O DUO are that rare thing - a duo of percussionists. After training at the Royal College of Music an Edinburgh festival novelty act has led to 15 years of percussive duets. Owen Gunnel and Oliver Cox join us on Saturday Live before their gig at the Gower festival.
JP meets local hero and "Mr Tenby", Laurie Dale, and we'll have thank yous live from our studio audience.
And the Inheritance Tracks of TV Weather presenter Sian Lloyd who chooses Can Walter by Meic Stevens and Something Inside So Strong by Labi Siffre.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Richard Madeley is one of the most recognizable faces on British TV, part of a successful husband and wife presenting team that lasted over 20 years. He has written four books - one about his relationship with his father, the latest called 'The Night Book' which is published this month.
Living statues. You see them now in Trafalgar Sq. and at the seaside, wherever tourists gather, standing dead still, or sometimes even appearing to hover, for hours for the amusement of the crowds. One (at least) is a regular listener to the programme, Eve Blakemore, and she's with us now, and she's dressed magnificently...
Steve Rich loved football and played at amateur level until a car accident and a ruptured knee in his twenties ended all that. Twenty years later, he's back on the pitch, but at his own pace - playing walking football.
Gina Yashere has been a stand up and TV star in the UK for several years now, with appearances on iconic TV shows such as Live at the Apollo & Mock the Week, as well as creating & performing popular comedic characters on The Lenny Henry Show. She broke onto the American comedy scene with her appearances on Last Comic Standing (NBC), where she made it to the final 10, and then never went home.
Playwright David Hare shares his Inheritance Tracks. He has chosen 'Oh What a Lovely War (Joan Littlewood Stage Show) & Simple Twist of Fate (by Bob Dylan) Sung by Diana Krall)
Richard Madeley's new book The Night Book is Published by Simon & Schuster 30 June 2016 | Paperback
Producer: Maire Devine Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Rick Astley rolls into the studio to talk to Aasmah Mir and Rev Richard Coles about his comeback album, what it's like to be at the top of the charts the second time round and why he drives to as many different concerts as possible even if they are abroad.
Police Sergeant Colin Taylor reveals the trials of policing one of Britain's most remote communities on the Scilly Isles.
Professional clown Dan Lees discusses his experiences of performing for children in refugee camps as part of the Clown Without Borders ensemble and why he thinks clowns are the most misunderstood of theatrical performers.
Lido lover and Saturday Live listener Sarah Thelwall on why she is planning to swim in every open air pool in the UK.
Plus British Skeleton Bob competitor Amy Williams shares the music that inspired her Olympic gold medal success.
Producer: Steven Williams
Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by
Actor Freddie Fox starred in TV drama Cucumber, has played Romeo, and is currently performing the parts of both Demetrius and Bottom in a madcap production of A Midsummer Night's dream.
Rescued from Kolkata riverside by Mother Theresa, Gautam Lewis went on to carve a career in the music industry working with bands like The Libertines. He joins us on Saturday Live to tell us his extraordinary story.
Referee Mary Harmer is a football referee. She talks about her love of football, her path to becoming a referee and how volunteering helped her.
A jelly version of Buckingham Palace has popped up on social media this week, and Tim Simpson is the man responsible for this and other strange concoctions such as a lifesize chocolate Benedict Cumberbatch and a tweed suit for a horse. He'll tell us how and why.
JP meets record producer John Schroeder who worked with Status Quo, Cliff Richard and Helen Shapiro, and whose cat, Treasure, could predict a number one hit.
We have the inheritance tracks of hairdresser to the stars Nicky Clarke who chooses Starman by David Bowie and Beautiful Boy by John Lennon, and your thank yous.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Karen Dalziel.
This week on Saturday Live - Aasmah Mir and Kate Silverton speak to wildlife presenter Michaela Strachan about her long and varied career, train enthusiast David Brewer, the man who has photographed every railway station in the UK, Rachel Mariner on swapping the courtroom to write for the stage and Mark Simpson, Young Musician of the Year in 2006 and is a nominee in the South Bank Sky Arts Awards for The Immortal, his new work for orchestra and chorus. Plus Juliet Stevenson shares her Inheritance Tracks
Producer: Maire Devine Editor: Karen Dalziel.
The comedy writer and performer, Barry Cryer, joins Aasmah Mir and Kate Silverton. James Young has always been a keen gamer. When, in 2012, he lost two limbs after he was hit by a train, James thought he'd never pick up a games controller again. He explains how he is now at the centre of one of the biggest projects in the gaming world - the creation of a high tech prosthetic arm. JP Devlin meets Carlo Ancelotti to talk about football - and cheese. John Ahern describes life on the road with his family, travelling from the North Pole to African Desert in a rickety campervan. And Pixie Lott shares her Inheritance Tracks - Love Come Down performed by Evelyn Champagne King, and Something Inside So Strong, by Labi Siffre.
Bodyhack: Metal Gear Man BBC Three Documentary is available on BBC iplayer. Quiet Leadership by Carlo Ancelotti is published by Penguin. On The Road With Kids: One Family. 30 Countries. No Turning Back, by John Ahern, is out now.
Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Former political correspondent, pasa doble specialist and now narrow boat enthusiast John Sergeant celebrates 50 years of broadcasting and reveal show he got his break into the industry
Garden designer Juliet Sargeant tells us about her preparations for the pinnacle of the horticultural year - the Chelsea Flower Show.
Saturday Live listener Freya Rodger reveals why she is attempting to do all 41 Olympic Sports before the closing ceremony in this year's Games
Swedish elite athlete Mikael Lindnord took part in endurance race across the Ecuador. After taking pity on a stray dog and feeding him some meatballs, the dog then followed Mikael hundreds of miles across mountains rivers and the jungle. Mikael named him Arthur and eventually took him back to live with his family in Sweden.
Plus the singer, actor and now writer, John Barrowman shares his Inheritance Tracks
And the school teacher and his pupils who were so inspired by Saturday Live guest Liesbeth Langford, that they made an award winning film of her life.
With Aasmah Mir and the Rev Richard Coles
Actor and writer David Mitchell talks about playing William Shakespeare in new series Upstart Crow, his comedy partnership with Robert Webb, and being unable to read people, despite getting a lot of practice as team Captain on Would I Lie to You.
As the football season comes to an end, listener Angela Hallam talks about the craft of making football mascots, and her experiences of wearing the costume.
Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour reflects on his career, which included signing for Fulham aged 9 and cleaning boots as an apprentice.
Njambi McGrath is a comedian and antenatal teacher. She talks about finding her voice as a performer, growing up in Kenya and the difficult relationship with her father - which she talks about in her latest show.
Amanda Holden shares her inheritance Track: Meat Loaf's Dead Ringer for Love and Dolly Parton's 9 to 5.
Chester Town Crier David Mitchell talks about spending over two decades in the role, and explains why he's chosen an 18th century outfit.
Upstart Crow staring David Mitchell continues on Monday on BBC 2 at 10pm, except in Northern Ireland where it's on at 11.35pm. Ray Parlour's autobiography The Romford Pele is out now Amanda Holden can be seen on Britain's Got Talent at 8pm on ITV.
Producer: Claire Bartleet Editor: Karen Dalziel.
Richard Coles and Aasmah Mir are joined by Mark Haddon.
Best known for writing multi prize winning novel The Curious Incident of the dog in the Nighttime, author and illustrator Mark Haddon will discuss his first book of short stories and getting writers block.
Since 2009 a third of our public libraries have closed. Poet and model Greta Bellamacina joins us to talk about a film she's made in support of The Library.
Listener Sanjeen Payne-Kumar contacted us about an extraordinary meeting he had with Mother Teresa. We thought we'd better get him on the programme to tell us more, and it turns out it's not the only interesting story he has...
Sophie Scott is a neuroscientist who has a particular interest in laughter. No surprise, then that she also does Stand up comedy. She'll be in the studio with Aasmah and Richard.
We'll hear the inheritance tracks Katherine Jenkins who chooses We are Family by Sister Sledge and Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana performed by The Philharmonia Orchestra.
JP meets Peter Pullon, model maker to the stars and we have your Thank You.
Producer: Corinna Jones Editor: Karen Dalziel
Mark Haddon's book of short stories, The Pier Falls is out on 5th May The Safe House: A Decline of Ideas has its premiere at The Gate cinema in Notting Hill on May 23 and will appear at a selection of independent cinemas. Katherine Jenkins' new album Celebration is out now and her UK tour continues on June 10th in Poole.